蓝莓视频

Centerstage Seamstress

Courage and charisma can get a theatre production pretty far, but there is one thing every actor depends upon: a costume. Centerstage stars and background extras alike rely on clothes that fit, function and help tell the story, said Heather Tomlinson, a member of EOU鈥檚 theatre faculty for almost a decade. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go on stage without costumes,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very single person needs one.鈥� That constant need has generated a sizeable inventory that varies from metallic to medieval, from breeches to boatnecks, and from ruffles to rollerblades. Tomlinson keeps the countless garments clean and organized between shows. She teaches Fundamentals of Costuming, where many students learn to sew for the first time. After a few weeks of practice, they help assemble costumes for an EOU production. But Tomlinson said costuming reaches far beyond cutting and sewing. First she reads through the script, noting seasons of the year, character traits and any descriptions of clothing. Then she does the research 鈥� a lot of it. She considers social class, historical era and location, gathering binder-fulls of images for reference. Next, she sketches the designs. After about three weeks spent building and fitting costumes, they debut at dress rehearsal just days before a premier. 鈥淣obody sees your designs,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he audience just sees what鈥檚 on stage, but there are a lot of little details in between.鈥� Tomlinson oversees costuming for all EOU productions, often piecing things together in off-hours and coaching new seamstresses through mishaps. In the end, though, she said all the extra effort is rewarded when a student becomes passionate about costuming. 鈥淚 love seeing that excitement mirrored in someone else,鈥� she said.