Behind the seams
Susan Burgess brings generations of theatrical passion to her work as a costumer at Yoh Theatre. We recently caught up with her to learn about her journey from discovering her grandmother's trunk of costumes as a child to creating magical wardrobes for today's young performers.
What sparked your interest in theatre costumes?
As a child, I was fascinated to discover an old trunk in the cellar, full of costumes that my grandmother wore as an actress in a traveling tent show that she and her brothers toured through East Texas in the early 1900's, accompanied by her mother (chaperone, ticket taker, and costumer). She filled us with stories of life in the theatre, made sure we understood the difference between an* ingenue* and a soubrette, and showed us how to apply greasepaint, and how to sew. I was entranced with her stories of the magic of the theatre!
How did you eventually get involved with Yoh Theatre?
But although my life took a different turn (towards molecular biology!), when granddaughter Lylah got involved with Yoh, and my daughter Greta asked if I could help with costuming, I finally got my chance to experience the magic from behind the scenes.
What's it like working with the theatre team and players?
I love working with this amazingly talented and joyful group of actors. Marcia has created a culture of creative and energetic cooperation. For each production, the costuming team brainstorms with Marcia and the actors to develop a wardrobe plan that fits their concept of the play. We build a color scheme that creates a harmonious tableau with all the characters in each scene. Then we search the wardrobe rooms to find appropriate costumes, or construct and fit the costumes for each actor.
Can you walk us through the process of creating a specific costume?
Each costume can be a creative challenge. For example, for Hera's costume in Argonautica, we start with a picture that looks about right, only it should be sparkly, and in gold. She has to ride on Jason's shoulders, so she needs a split skirt. We find the fabrics, I draft a pattern to fit, and drape and shape and sew the fabric, and do fittings and alterations. Add a flowing cape to the back. We delight in the smug grins as the actor displays the costume to the rest of the troupe. See how she moves through the scenes, then more alterations so the goddess won't trip on the skirt going up the stairs. And finally with lighting and music, we see the effect with the full cast on stage for the performance, (with occasional emergency backstage repairs to fix wardrobe failures during the performance!)