Sew I dance!

After spending some time with my mom at home while she recovered, I headed off to Lees McRae Summer Theatre for my second summer season with them. I had really enjoyed my previous summer despite my early misgivings about it. Also, I still was having difficulty getting my foot in the door other places with my utter lack of connections in the industry. So I returned to a place that I had enjoyed to continue gaining experience and building my resume. Not to mention, I had bills to pay.

Upon arrival I was approached with an unexpected and unusual question for someone in the costume shop. Would I be willing to be in the show? Apparently the guy to play Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats had needed to drop out just prior to everyone’s arrival. They remembered that I was a pretty good dancer and wanted me to step in since it was very short notice to find someone new who could dance the part. I was flattered and kinda really wanted to do it because I not so secretly love Cats. I realize that most people hate this show and I am fairly alone in my love, which is surprising since it did so well on Broadway. Maybe there are just a lot of people in the closet about their love for Cats. Not me. I’m out about it!

But I was there to do costumes. I was no longer in pursuit of a career in the performing arts and I really wanted the portfolio building work of making costumes even though performing in a musical would be a lot of fun. They said they’d work it out. I could do both. Cool. But what about money? They weren’t really paying me enough to be pulling double duty. They offered me extra money while I was rehearsing and performing. Awesome! One last thing…I didn’t have to sing did I? I love to dance and I love to sing…in the shower. Or alone in my house or car. I do not sing in front of other people because I do not sing well. I’m not being modest here. Ask my mom. I can’t sing. I was promised that I could lip sink. Perfect! And that’s how I became Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats the first production of the summer.

I really enjoyed that experience though it was extremely exhausting. I spent most of the morning and afternoon in the costume shop and my evenings in rehearsals. Sometimes I was needed in a morning or afternoon rehearsal and would miss time in the costume shop but my supervisor was really understanding about it. And then when we moved to the stage someone had the bright idea to make me the wardrobe person as well since I was already there. So my evenings extended into the night and early morning as I took the repairs back to my room at night to fix. Not to mention the constant interruptions to my preparations each night having to fix holes and help other people with their various wardrobe needs. This meant that I was one of the first to arrive each night at the theatre because an early start was the only way my makeup and wig got on every night.

That was a bit stressful but I wouldn’t trade the performing part for anything. I had a blast and even signed an autograph one night!

This is the little girl I signed an autograph for. She was also in the show! (Our version of cats involved a few kittens)

Working my Mistoffelees magic.

The whole cast.

The season’s second show was The Secret Garden. Since I wasn’t quite working full time in the shop due to my rehearsal schedule, I only made one garment for this show. I made a dress for one of the ensemble girls. It was made from a commercial pattern with a few design tweaks. Those choices were made by costume designer Katherine Tarkulich. If I remember correctly, the box pleats at the collar and hem were the additions. There may have been more. The dress is made from a poly-satin and flat lined with muslin. Remember that this theatre is in a small town and fabric selection isn’t great short of a 2 hour or more drive. Here’s the dress.

Those ripples down the side front seam aren’t intentional. The bias grew. I didn’t know much about bias at the time so I didn’t know to let the pieces hang for a day or so to let the bias stretch out. Oh well, I do now!

The last show of the summer was Guys and Dolls. For this one I got to make 5 costumes, the outfits that the girls wear for “A Bushel and a Peck”. The blouses and shorts for this are connected and start with commercial patterns that I then moved some lines and altered the pattern to fit my needs. There is then a circle skirt that goes over the shorts and rips away during the number with the aid of velcro. Miss Adelaide’s costume, I draped…mostly. The top portion is draped and the lower portion was merged with a pattern that I had. We just didn’t have a pattern that was close to the way the top portion of her outfit fit, so I started from scratch. Unfortunately there weren’t any of the really good dress forms. We had adjustable dress forms. These are difficult to drape on because there is a gap at center front, but I managed. Here are all of the girls in their “Bushel and Peck” costumes.

 

I thought that these ended up being really cute and they were fun to work on. I had had another great summer in Banner Elk, NC. Next step…grad school!