Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2014 - 21

weaving gracefully out of the way while capturing it all.
As soon as Jara sees the costume on the dancer, he realizes that
the black panel on the interior of the skirt is not going to work. While it
does read as neutral, the skeleton leg disappears too much into it, and
he is afraid it will not be visible on stage. He fetches a bolt of yellow
fabric from the barrel in the shop, and Kiernan and Kesilis pin a makeshift panel in place. Next the designer turns his attention to the dancer's
neck. He decides that a necklace would help to transition the join between head and dress. He and Bahr confer briefly about the shape and
style he'd prefer. He also sends the assistant designer to pull a selection
of fabric roses, so they can evaluate the full effect of the headpiece and
the dress, complete with red accents at bosom and temple. None of
the roses are quite the right shape, so they plan to refashion one to lie
flatter to the dress. And, despite preliminary discussions with the crafts
department about balancing out a high-heeled sandal on the living side
with an elevated skeleton foot on the other, Jara decides the elegant gold
sandals are fine as they are. The costume has a whole veil and a whole
choker, so why not a whole pair of shoes?
In Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation (2010), author Steven Johnson notes that "legendary innovators
like Franklin, Snow, and Darwin all possess some common intellectual
qualities-a certain quickness of mind, unbounded curiosity-but they
also share one other defining attribute. They have a lot of hobbies." While
many of us become too busy to devote much time to hobbies, interviewing
theatre artisans reveals a group of people who are interested in exploring
diverse methods. Many started out in other fields, whether accounting,
anthropology, or architecture. Most were drawn to theatre design and
technology because of the group collaboration and the ever-changing set
of circumstances. Creative curiosity comes so naturally to a group like this
that they rarely stop to think of it as a special skill. Johnson also notes,
"The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation
and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the table."
While it is hard to say definitively whether this type of mindset develops
from work in a theatre shop, or whether the field draws those who like to
work collaboratively and think on the fly, the value of a talented, creative,
and above all, diverse team is indisputable. v
E. Shura Pollatsek worked as an assistant costume designer
at the Metropolitan Opera and on Broadway. Costume design
credits include the Pearl Theatre and Storm Theatre in New York
and CityDance Ensemble at the Kennedy Center. She also designed
several nationally broadcast PBS television programs. She is an
associate professor of costume design and technology at Western
Kentucky University. She and photographer Mitch Wilson are
currently working on a book about creative collaboration in the
costume shop.
Mitch Wilson, a National Press Photographer of the Year recipient,
is known for his cinematography and still photography, and is a
DGA director. He has been recognized with many awards including
the Primetime Emmy, the duPont Columbia Award, the Peabody,
and two International Documentary Association Awards. He began
his career as a combat cameraman and underwater photographer
in the U.S. Navy's elite Combat Camera Group.

2014

theatre design

& technology

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Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2014

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