Costumes

I have always been a highly creative person. I give credit to my mother’s sisters, and they, realizing that I was also a creative type, exposed me to many craft forms throughout the years. Some I liked, some not so much. I was always on the lookout for another outlet to satisfy the craft craving that was always gnawing at me. What are these crafts? Well, there is a list a mile long - well, that's an embellishment for sure, but there are quite a few. Let's see...there was knitting, tatting, crocheting, painting, sewing. I still sew because I really enjoy it. The others? Nah, they weren’t for me. I will, however, take the opportunity to brag loudly about my Aunt Kathy. She knitted, tatted, and crocheted some beautiful things and I admire her skill, as well as anyone else who mastered those skills for that matter.

My Aunt Mae started teaching me to sew around the age of 10. She was a talented seamstress. I say was because she passed away a couple of years ago. She sewed anything from simple hems to wedding dresses from patterns she designed herself. I loved sewing but I was young and none of my friends did that! Therefore, I rather blew it off and I didn’t take it seriously. After all, what fashion conscience girl wants homemade clothes! Everyone knew that store bought was the 'in' thing. And that’s what I got. Store bought – everything. Fast forward 30 years. Little did I know that the sewing skills she taught me, which I enjoyed yet set aside for shallow social reasons, would become the reason I was able to step into a whole new realm of creating that I had never dreamed of. The craft love of my life appeared out of the blue one day thanks to my Aunt Mae and my daughter’s crazy talent which dropped me in the midst of glorious musical theatre!

It was 2011. My daughter auditioned for a musical theatre show. On the first day of rehearsal, a packet was handed out and within the paperwork was a volunteer sign-up sheet. They were asking for help creating the costumes for the show. I really wanted to do sign up to help with the costumes, but I had never worked on anything like that, so I ignored it – for a minute – then back to it I went. I wanted to do sign up for costumes so badly, but I was afraid. I just knew that every parent in that room was eons more qualified than me. So, I signed up to help with the makeup. My daughter saw what I did. “Mom? Why didn’t you sign up for costumes?” “Because I don’t think I’m qualified”, I said. “I’ll just do the makeup for this show. It will be fun!” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. And I was! Doing makeup would be fun! The problem was, I had never done stage makeup either, but I figured I could muddle my way through it. It was just makeup after all. Wow, did I misjudge that one.

Anyway, I was waiting in the lobby of the theatre waiting on my daughter to finish talking to her friends, when the lady who was in charge of organizing the volunteers walked up to me and introduced herself. I introduced myself and we struck up a conversation. She was telling me how much she appreciated that I signed up to do makeup. “There’s so many volunteers for makeup. I wish I had someone who could sew.” My heart did a flip-flop and I decided to stick myself out there. “I can sew”, I said. “Really!” she exclaimed. “Well would you be interested in helping me with the costumes? I tell you, I need someone that can run the machine, but I also need someone who can hand stitch. There’s a lot of hand stitching to do. Please tell me you can hand stitch.” I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the opportunity that moment! “I can!” She was practically hopping up and down. “That’s so great! Thank you so much! Can you start today?” I was a little surprised to start so soon, but I didn’t care. I was eager to get started. She departed and was gone for a bit. When she returned, she had a tone of sewing for me to do and I couldn’t have been happier. Mostly tail sewing, but I was sewing and contributing all the same.

That was a joyous creative experience and I have continued to create costumes for theatre whenever I'm asked. I have even had the opportunity to design the costumes for an entire show. I was particularly excited about the lead actresses costume because it required me to design a hat. I love hats! They are probably my favorite thing to create. My all – time favorite show that has beautiful costumes with hats is My Fair Lady. Wow! Now those are some gorgeous hats and dresses! Love it! But back to the lead actress costume I created. She was a witch, but I wasn’t going to have her look like the typical witch. I knew what I wanted for her character, and I was determined to do it. The dress gave a stunning new look to an old iconic character. Wicked, but far from an old hag. And I can take joy in knowing that my costumes create a visual connection to a time, place and character that will be remembered for a lifetime. Creating costumes brings me joy and it makes me happy that they are appreciated by the cast and audiences alike.