THR 261 Production Practicum
Course: THR261 Production Practicum - Costume Construction (Daddy Long Legs)
Term: Winter 2019
Evaluator: Leah T. Hearne, F.R.S.A.
Student: Katherina Stegerman
Comments:
Katherina was the costume designer and head of costume construction for Frances MacDonald’s final project, Daddy Long Legs. This evaluation is focused primarily on her work as head of costume construction.
The initial storyboards for the costumes were lovely. Katherina had researched the era of the show thoroughly before proceeding with her design. I loved her use of colour and image; the way she saw Jerusha as an emerging butterfly, and how Jervis came out of his gray garb to take on the colours of Jerusha’s world.
Since the show was a student final project the budget was low, and Katherina’s designs needed to be realized mostly through what could be found in the Rosebud Theatre’s Wardrobe stock. She was successful to this end and came in well under budget.
I am not sure what Katherina had agreed to be responsible for as head of costume construction. I would have assumed that rehearsal costume pieces would be in place at the first rehearsal. The rehearsal pieces did not arrive until late in the short timeline we had for this show. For this and other issues that seemed to arise surrounding the repair of costume pieces it would have been useful for me to know what to expect from Katherina at the onset of rehearsals.
Katherina was not available to come to many runs of the show during the rehearsals, and those she did attend were quite late in the process. As a result, she missed out on learning the reasoning for choices and changes in the costumes. Experiencing this part of the process would have been useful to her education for this work.
I need to point out an area of concern which has troubled me since it occurred. Early in tech week after one of the runs Katherina was able to attend, she and I were chatting in the hall. There was a lot going on in the rehearsal hall, but she made a loud, flippant and disparaging remark about the abilities of one of the cast members. I don’t know if she was serious, or if the actor in question heard her remark, but in the moment, it struck me as insensitive. It occurred to me that I should have spoken to her about this as soon as it happened or at least shortly thereafter. Frankly I was so surprised that I didn’t deal with it well in the moment. Katherina should be aware that in her role of essentially the head of wardrobe for the show her opinions of the actors’ ability or lack thereof is not required, especially at the vulnerable juncture of tech week.
I was pleased with the look of the costumes, but I felt that Katherina was not all in as a team member for the show. We saw her so seldom that there were times I forgot who was doing costumes for the show. I grant that it is possible that what Frances was expecting from her and what she was willing to commit to were two different things. I was only witness to what was happening in the hall and she was not there much of the time. Katherina has beautiful eye for colour and image, and certainly style. Will she invest more of her heart in this work?
Thoughts: This evaluation highlights my struggle to respect the rehearsal hall, I like to share my opinions and to speak, but I am needing to learn when I have the right to do that and where. I also learned that when I am making jokes they are not always perceived that way to others and that can harm a team, even if it was said as a joke. This challenge is something I still try to stay aware of.