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On stage
What: IPFW Department of Theatre presents the 17th-century Moliere romantic comedy “The Miser,” which has been set in 1920s Paris. Children ages 5 and younger will not be admitted. When: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Oct. 4-6; and 2 p.m. Oct. 7. The matinee show is signed for people with hearing impairment. Where: Williams Theatre at IPFW, 2101 Coliseum Blvd. E. Cost: $14, adults; $12, seniors/faculty/staff/alumni; $10 each, groups of 10 or more; $5, students age 18 and younger; free, IPFW students with ID; and $10, other college students with ID. The IPFW box office in the athletic center is open 12:30–6:30 p.m. weekdays. Reserve tickets in advance by calling 481-6555 or TTD: 481-4105. Information: 481-6555 or www.ipfw.edu/theatre Note: Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of management or at intermission. |
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Actors usually get the spotlight during a theater production. But with IPFW's presentation of the comic farce “The Miser,” the co-stars will be four women audiences likely will never see.
The production, which opens Friday and continues through Oct. 7, depends heavily on detailed costumes for the actors. And director Craig A. Humphrey depended on four students in the costume shop — Stevie Lockridge, Heidi Christensen, Amber Klinker and Jessica Sokolowski — to cut and sew together the most complicated pieces of the actors' wardrobe.
Most semesters, the costume shop has one student who can tackle complicated costumes, said Jeanne Pendleton, IPFW Department of Theatre's costume shop supervisor.
“I've never seen this skill level at the undergrad level at one time,” Pendleton said of the group.
Lockridge, Klinker and Sokolowski all are pursuing degrees in theater design, while Christensen is an art major.
The creative process began when Humphrey, an associate professor of costume design at IPFW, gave Pendleton the drawings of costumes he wanted made. She then assigned a different costume to each student, they said.
Using body measurements of the actors, the four created patterns for certain clothing or shaped the costume by draping cloth over a body-shaped form, they said. They then did a mock-up of their costume using cheap cotton cloth so they could cut and mark places that needed to be taken in, let out or changed.
Then the young women, all of whom are seniors, started cutting out fabric and sewing together the real costumes.
They enjoy different and some similar aspects of their craft.
“I enjoy seeing your piece on stage,” Klinker said. “That is one of the most satisfying things.”
Lockridge, who already works as a graphic designer, likes the challenge of getting all of the garment pieces fit together properly.
“I enjoy the thinking and trying to figure out how to make it work,” she said.
Sokolowski enjoys both the technical aspects of creating a costume and seeing it go from sketch to finished garment on stage. Christensen likes the hands-on nature of the work.
All four hope to use their skills in future careers ranging from opening an alterations and custom-sewing business to designing for a large opera company
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