Getting hands-on experience

Of the 14 different Master’s of Fine Arts programs at the UI, only one area of study allows students to hone their skills in costume design: the MFA of Theatre Arts with a focus in Design, which also focuses on other aspects of behind-the-scenes work like set design and construction, in addition to costume design.

For these graduate students, mainstages are a real-world opportunity to build their skills. In a typical year, their costume ensembles would be viewed by thousands during the show’s run.

The Costume Shop gives general design and construction support to students for any particular pieces that need to be made. In addition to the graduate students and full-time employees, the shop has a fluctuating number of additional staff to help wherever they can.

First-year MFA student Abigail Coleman serves as one of only two graduate assistants in the Costume Shop. As part of the graduate program, students are required to work 10 hours per week in the shop. Coleman said that, as a part of her graduate assistant-status, working on The People Before the Park is simply part of her job.

For the show, Coleman was assigned to build two pairs of period-style long underwear. Costume crew members can also be assigned to a specific actor to complete all the alterations necessary for that character’s specific costume.

“It was a project for me that was in my skill level,” Coleman said. “That’s kind of how things get divvied up.”

Costume Shop Graduate Assistant Bethany Kasperek, a second-year MFA student, worked as Arthur’s assistant. Kasperek constructed a jacket for one of the actors playing a police officer.

Kasperek noted that, because a majority of the characters in The People Before the Park are male and the show is set in the 1850s, there were few pieces the costume crew had to make by hand. Items like pants, jackets, vests, and men’s boots are often already in stock or can be purchased easily online and altered, so there was a lot of time and effort saved. For a character like Phoebe, however, her wealthy status meant she would often be wearing dresses made of nicer material, which all needed to be built from start to finish using original designs.

“It really depends on what exactly the costume piece is and what needs to happen with it,” Kasperek said. “If they need like a pair of tearaway purple plaid pants, we’re not going to have that in stock, so we need to build it.”

Timeline by Parker Jones/The Daily Iowan

The graduate student also noted that, because of the safety restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been numerous changes to both the design and fitting process. If there were any in-person fittings, they were very brief, Croy said, but very necessary.

“You can’t adjust a cuff or a hem or a neckline without being up close and personal with the actors,” she said.