Behind the Scenes: One Tattered Angel

A picture recap on my latest BYUH production, "One Tattered Angel"

Director: Craig Ferre

Costumer: Me

Costume Assistant: Ingrid Veliz

Costume Crew (BYU-H THEA141 class): Taimi Kennerly, Nhil Banda, Mandi Veech, Christina Smith, Eseta Clanton. Check their blog, Behind the Scenes.

One Tattered Angel World Premiere. November 6-9, 2014. Written by Blaine Yorgason. Adapted for the stage by Craig Ferre. Cast from left to right: Kevin Brady, Kevin Holley, Zackary Cusworth, Jessica Hunter, Colin Carlson, Libby Templeton, Kimberly Kitto, Cameron Abaroa, Aliyah Qureshi, Keola Holt, Dannia Tan, Michaela Bayona, Adam Call, Hidden Canite, Lizzy Saylor, Chris Cornelison, Ingrid Veliz, LeGrand Lawrence.

Cast Pictures in no particular order

Actor Hidden Canite played two parts. He was the TEMPLE SEALER  and he was a CHAPEL GUEST. This is his temple sealer costume. Brother Ferre wanted him in the wheelchair and in the grey wig to make him look older. This tan suit was the only suit we had in our wardrobe that fit him well so that's why he was in this. The 70's looking tie kinda dates him to being older than the 1980's (hopefully). For the chapel scene he removed the jacket and wig and switched to a red tie.

Actor Kevin Holley played the part of STEVE YORGASON and a CAROLER.  He brought his own slacks, shoes and belt from home and wore an 80's looking shirt. For his other costume he added a Christmas sweater, scarf and Santa hat, all of which were found in the costume wardrobe.

Actor Kevin Brady played the part of  NATE YORGASON and a CAROLER. Kevin brought his own slacks, belt and shoes and wore a shirt and tie from the costume wardrobe. His second costume was a Christmas sweater, scarf and santa hat from the costume wardrobe.

Actress Libby Templeton played the part of TAMI YORGASON. She originally had three costumes but because of complications with scene changes we reduced it to two. I think this turned out better anyways because it helped the audience keep track of her easier. Both of these outfits were pulled from the costume wardrobe, even the high waisted button-fly jeans!

From left to right we have actors Cameron Aberoa playing BLAINE YORGASON, Kimberly Kitto playing KATHY YORGASON, Lizzy Saylor playing BRENDA GALLAGHER (she was also a nurse), and Chris Cornelison playing KEN GALLAHER (he also played a doctor). Blaine and Kathy's costumes were very complicated because they were in all but a few scenes, more on that later. Brenda wore some great high waisted loose fit jeans and a floral crop blouse with shoulder pads worn with some slip on shoes. Chris wore some high waisted jeans and an oxford. His jeans may have been women's jeans. These were all found in the costume wardrobes.

Actor LeGrand Lawrence played the part of FRED. Fred is a dishwasher at the hospital so we went with the basic food service look of black pants, white shirt and comfortable shoes. He brought these items from home. Mandy Veech from the costume crew made him the blue dishwasher's apron. She used materials from the costume department's fabric storage.

Actress Ingrid Veliz played the part of CAROL and she was also a CAROLER and a CHAPEL GUEST. Ingrid is also the assistant to the costumer. Ingrid found this denim skirt and sweater set in the costume wardrobes also.  The skirt was shortened and turned around backwards so that the kickpleats were visible, to add interest. She added a blue bow to her big 80's hairstyle.  She wore this costume as a chapel guest also but changed to be a caroler. She wore a Christmas sweater, some baggy jeans, a scarf and a santa hat.

Actress Michaela Bayona played the part of MARY ANN and was also a CHAPEL GUEST. This costume was a simple jumper worn with a sweater and some keds and poofy socks. Her second costume was a red jumper with the same sweater and shoes. These costumes were all pulled from the costume wardrobe.

Actress Keola Holt played the part of MARGIE. Margie is a friend who is a nurse so she had two costumes. This first one was  a traditional nurses dress with hat, white nylons and white tennis shoes. We had several dresses in the costume wardrobe but none that fit her. Costume crew-member Eseta Clanton successfully harvested some material from a second dress to make this one fit correctly. It looks great and you can't even tell. Great job Eseta! The nurses hats were cut from cardstock. Assistant Ingrid Veliz found the pattern online and crew-member Nhil Banda took the pattern down to the print shop to get it sized and printed. Keola's second costume was a denim shirt with floral accent, peach blouse, denim skirt and keds, also found in the costume wardrobes. Also pictured are actresses Lizzy Saylor (left) and Kimberly Kitto (right) mentioned in previous photos.

This is another picture of Keola and Kimberly and is the first time we see BABY CHARITY and actress Jessica Hunter playing MICHELLE YORGASON. Kimberly is wearing an apron custom made for the show by costume crew-member Eseta Clanton. We wanted an apron that looked very frilly and 80's and that had a lot of coverage so that it almost looked like a different dress. The materials for the apron were all from the costume shop fabric storage. Jessica was styled primarily by crew-member Taimi Kennerly. This is only one of her four outfits. Because she was young she got the trendiest clothes in the play and again, they were all from the costume wardrobe. These pink keds, loose fit, pegged leg jeans, shirt with shoulder pads and vest was the most conservative of her outfits. She also wore a bold aqua and white striped drop waist mini dress with black and white polka dot legging shorts. Another scene she had the same shorts with an oversized white sweater and a big bow. She also wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt with some overalls and a big bow. We purchased jelly bracelets for her to wear. This was the first item we purchased for the play.

Actor Colin Carlson played DAN YORGASON, and actor Zackery Cusworth played TRAVIS YORGASON. The Yorgason family was a conservative Utah family so we played it pretty safe with everyone. Most of our 80's looks were very subtle. Dan had several costume changes. He always wore jeans and he alternated between rugby shirts, polos and button downs. Travis had to wear pajamas and slacks and jeans and he also alternated between button downs and rugby's and this vest. These costumes were all found in the costume wardrobe.

Actress Aliyah Qureshi played the part of SHARON the social worker. She had three costume changes. All of them were power business attire with great shoulder pads, pearls, white nylons and pearls.

Pictured here with Cameron (right) is actor Adam Call. He played the part of MAX and he was also a CHAPEL GUEST and SANTA CLAUS. In this photo he is wearing his chapel guest costume even though it is supposed to be the moving scene. We were taking photos out of order. He brought the shirt, shoes and belt from home and we found him the pleated slacks and tie from the costume wardrobe. For the scene as max he wore a different pair of pleated slacks, a braided belt and a pastel striped, short sleeve button down that was so totally 80's. I wish I had a picture of that! We borrowed the santa suit from the University Communications officer who plays Santa every year for the University Christmas Tree lighting. Adam is a skinny kid so we added a fat suit under the santa suit. He still looked pretty skinny.

The medical staff played by actors Keola Holt, Lizzy Saylor, Chris Cornelison, and Dannia Tan. I've already introduced you the the first three previously and don't feel I need to say anything more about them with the exception of Chris' lab coat. We borrowed the lab coats for both Chris and Dannia from the Chemistry department and Brother Ferre borrowed the stethoscopes from BioChem. Thank you costume crew-member Christina Smith for your "in" with the Chemistry department. Actress Dania Tan played the part of "DR WALKER". Dannia is very short so we put her in heels and found her a pair of slacks that we altered to fit her long--trying to make her look taller. She wore the lab coat with a pink blouse under it. She rolled the pink blouse and the lab coat sleeves up so the pink showed and the color of the shirt she prepped up. It had a big chin bow on it too so that was, of course, fluffed to be bigger. Dannia had a lot of fun with her loud (but classy) 80's eye shadow, earrings and poofy bangs.

Here's another picture of Dannia and also a shot of our two main actors. More on them in a minute.

I caught a picture of Brother Ferre! This is rare. I'm just throwing it in for fun. No costume notes on this picture.

Kimberly Kitto and Cameron Abaroa. They played KATHY YORGASON and BLAINE YORGASON. Their costumes were very complicated simply because they had so many quick changes. They were in practically every scene and the play follows them through over 8 years of their life. We had to figure out how to get the audience to realize that time was passing without changing complete outfits. There were also a LOT of scene changes. Blaine basically wore his black pants and a tan t-shirt and this cream polo the whole time. He would then layer different items over or take items off right down to the tan tee. He had pajama pants that he would pull over his slacks, he had a robe that he would pull on over his tee. He also had a blazer, a red cardigan a red shirt, a plaid shirt, and a winter jacket all layered at various times throughout the play. Kimberly too layered up. Cameron was the only person we ended up buying costumes for. The items purchased for him were a tan tee-shirt, a plaid pajama set, a long robe and a cream polo shirt. She had a nightgown, a dress, 2 robes, another dress, 3 cardigans (2 were the same but on opposite sides of the stage) and this last dress. If you really want to see how it all fit together check out the costume dressers' directions in this document. It is what we posted in the wings to guide our dressers through the changes every night.

Out of the Studio This Week

This week I am roughing it on the shores of Maleakahana with 25 Young Women. For this week only I am trading in my scissors and needles for pocket knives and dutch ovens. Rest assured I will be back next week.

Before heading to girls camp check out these cute T-shirts I had the girls stencil paint:

Our stencils were contact paper from which our logo had been reverse-cut out of. The girls had to carefully peel away the paper and place their contact paper stencil on their shirt and then paint over the top of it.

Several coats of paint had to be put on. Between layers they used the blow dryer to speed up the drying process.

When the paint was completely dry we carefully peeled away the contact paper to reveal our finished product! Simple and fun; the girls loved them.

Backstage Pass: Little Women

Just a few of the pictures I took from backstage. I'm hoping to get some better on-stage shots from the director soon.

The Hag. Costume designed by my student Shannon. Repurposed materials from other costumes.

Meg's Ballgown. Sewn by me and embellished by students.

Professor Bhaer. Rented costume

Chorus member Tiffaney for the ball scene. All items were found in our costume closet and altered to fit.

Aunt March. Costume items found in closet and altered to fit. Added dark trim to bottom and around hood. Students made the feather headpiece.

Chorus members Ben and Jacob ready for the ball scene. Suits from closet. They were in bad condition and we had to fix them up a bit using a lot of Sharpie and a little thread.

Chorus Member Preston ready for the ice skating scene. All costume items from "the closet".

Mrs. Kirk. Items taken from closet and altered to make her look twice her size. Pocket added on apron to hold Jo's telegram from home!

The troll (not yet in full makeup) Costume Designed by student Rebecca.

Meg's daydress. This dress was designed to be worn before Meg is married (skinny) to when Meg is married and pregnant (pictured above), and she wears it after giving birth as well (when she looks a bit plumper than in the beginning. A fun dress to design and build. Students embellished it.

Aunt March when she comes back from Paris. I designed and built this one too. The actress is giving me her best disdainful Aunt March pout in this pic but just after I shot it she twirled around, smiled, and said this is my favorite costume I've ever worn in a play.

Clarissa. Costume was from the closet but was dramatically altered for her onstage stunts. She has two tear away sleeves and a tear away bustled train. She also has some alterations to make it easier for her to sword fight and we tore out  several underlayers of the dress so she wouldn't trip and stumble.

Jo is a very difficult person to get a picture of backstage because she is usually not there. She is onstage the majority of the play. This dress is her opening costume and was from the closet and then embellished by students. She also had a ballgown and another daydress that were both made new (by me) for this play.

Amy (with Aunt March in the background) wearing her "back from Paris" dress. You can't see it in this picture but this dress sparkles under the lights. It is trimmed in pearled and sequined lace and looks so fancy on stage. It also has a big bustled butt and has such a nice silhouette from the side in her scene with Laurie.This is one of five costumes that Amy wore in the play and the actress said this is her favorite. Because she changes so often none of her costumes have real buttons they are instead velcro'd shut.

Little Women at BYUH

I'm spending my Friday night (and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights) backstage at the BYUH McKay theater. It is not as exciting as you may think. Actors come in and out. They goof around and talk about stuff that college age kids talk about. They play games or play on their computer or listen to their ipods. There are a lot of touch ups to makeup and long stares into mirrors and randomly practiced lines.

I am here in case something happens to a costume. Last night we fixed two buttons, placed a handfull of safety pins into a ripped out seam and stitched up a tear in a wedding dress train. Tonight I have tied a bow and brushed some lint off a suit coat and spent a lot of time playing on my computer. Kind of relaxing after so much hard work.

The last four weeks have been a mad dash of sewing and altering and embellishing and accessorizing. The total ending costume count was as follows:
23 actors
52 costumes
229 pieces (a skirt is a piece, a shirt is a piece, etc.)

of those pieces
32 were ordered from a costume company (men's period tuxedos)
34 were made specifically for this play (13 by students)
164 were pulled from our costume closet and about half of these had an alteration or embellishment of some sort that were specific to this play and actors.

included in this count were
33 pieces of footwear
9 wigs
13 petticoats (7 were made new)
13 pieces of jewelery
16 pieces of headwear

Total man hours to complete the costuming for this play:


My students spent 84 hours in class working on costumes. They spent another 83 hours out of class working on the costumes. That is a total of 167 hours and I've only got 3 students! One of those very committed students worked 40 of those 83 out-of-class hours all by herself.

My student assistant, Jessica, has worked approximately 85.5 hours. She is a paid student worker. In January she took a few days off because she was sick and she took a couple more when she got married. (Congratulations Jessica!)

So far that is a total of 252.5 hours from students, paid and unpaid.

I spent 12 hours (possibly more but that's all I documented) reading and re-reading the script, researching the period and designing the costumes. I spent 6 hours shopping for materials and pieces. That does not include travel time because I combined every shopping trip with at least one personal in-town errand. I have been instructing students in the Costume Construction and Design class through 28 hours of class time. Lastly, I spent 91 more hours in the costume shop working on costumes. This includes sewing, fitting, finishing, laundering and also all the dress rehearsal and show prep.

That's a total of 137 hours that I have spent costuming this, my first show, Little Women.

Total man hours=389.5

I was pretty happy with what I saw when I watched the show on final dress rehearsal night. I am anxious to get feedback and to move on to my next show beginning Tuesday. Soon I'll post some pictures of the costumes, all taken from back stage.

A New Venture: Costume Design and Construction Instructor

I started a new exciting adventure today. I am the new Costume Design and Construction Instructor at BYU-Hawaii. I am following in the footsteps of Sister Betty Bacon and Sister Teryl Soren. Both were excellent at what they did and I hope I can meet or exceed the expectations that they have set. I am looking forward to the challenge.

  Here are a few pics of my new digs: The Costume Shop located at the back of the McKay Auditorium. It is just big enough for my desk, small filing cabinet (for office supplies), large filing cabinet (for patterns), bookshelf (full of sewing, costuming and history type reference books), a big cutting table, 2 rolling serger desks and 2 rolling sewing desks. We also have squeezed in 1-2 rolling clothing racks and a tall plastic drawer set full of threads and notions. In the corner is a built in cabinet where we lock up all our machines, irons, and other equipment and next to that is a built in fold-out three-way mirror.

Though it is small it is pretty efficient and I like it.

We have two plays coming up this semester: Little Women and Three Sisters.