Behind the Scenes

Jill Bauer

Name: Erin Stearns Amico

Occupation: Costume Designer

City of birth: Worcester, Massachusetts

City of residence: Deerfield Beach

Current productions: Steel Magnolias at the Caldwell Theatre Company, December 30 to February 11.  Hatchetman at Florida Stage, through January 14

Credits
2005-06 Costume Designer, Gablestage: A Bad Friend, Misery, Address Unknown, Intimate Apparel

2005-06 Costume Designer, Caldwell Theatre Company: Blithe Spirit, Under The Bed, The Impressionists, Lend Me A Tenor, Cole Porter Review

2004-06 Costume  Designer, Palm Beach Dramaworks:  Jacques Brel, Seascape, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Berlin To Broadway, That Championship Season, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Price

1996-06 Costume Designer, Pope Theatre/Florida Stage: Fish Or Cut Bait, 

Puttin' On The Ritz, Caberet Verboten (Carbonell Award Honorable Mention), Below The Belt, Three Forks, Beguiled Again, Incorruptible, Park In Our House, Private Eyes, Cradle Of Man, Hatchetman

Awards
Carbonell Award, Best Costume Design - Seascape at Palm Beach Dramaworks

How long have you been working in South Florida Theatre?
Eleven years.

How did you get into costume designing?
Costume designing unites several elements that I have always enjoyed and been drawn to.  My mother taught me to sew at a fairly young age and I've always enjoyed creating unique clothing for myself.  Learning about the history of clothing and what influenced the different styles that evolved throughout the development of the world adds a level of complexity and challenge that inspires me.   In finding that I could combine those ingredients with the dynamic of live theatre or dance, I felt like I had found something that would always test my resources and give me the opportunity to create something singular.

	Kameshia Duncan and Antonio Amadeo in Intimate Apparel, which was produced last spring at GableStage Theatre

How does costume designing differ from simply making clothes?
Making clothes is a technical skill that can be taught and improved upon with years of practice.  My mentor for technical expertise is my father-in-law, Tore' Amico.  He not only has an abundance of knowledge and experience in making clothing of all kinds, his intuition and eye for the drape of a garment is unequalled.  Costume designing draws upon not only the drape of a garment, but color, texture, historical accuracy and relevance to the script from which you are working.  Being a good costume designer does not necessarily mean that you can build clothing, and vise versa.

What is the process in getting a costume from page to stage?
There are several steps that a designer goes through to get to opening night:

1) Read the script

2) Plot the number and style of the costumes for each character.

3) Research the period style, even if it is modern

4) Talk to the director.

5) Present period research, sketches and/or actual clothing items to the director to solidify your vision as a team.

The ins and out of that process can change from show to show based on the theatre and its resources, but the most important thing to maintain is good communication between all members of the design and production team.

How much of what you design is indicated in the script, how much is dictated by the director and how much is your own imagination?
Script:  8 percent
Director: 8 percent
Designer's imagination: 84 percent

No really, every project is different.  Different scripts have differing levels of costume requirements. Different directors can choose to step away from those requirements and build their own vision, and in some cases, if the designer's vision is very strong they can steer the production in an entirely new direction.

What are the different challenges involved with designing for a period production and a contemporary production?
Period clothing is hard to find at the Town Center Mall.  I love to build period clothing, but often times the required costumes exceed the time allotted to produce them.  It is very important to have resources for renting costumes that will fulfill your vision as a designer and blend well with any and all elements that you are able to produce yourself.  Producing costumes for a period show is more costly than doing a show that takes place in the late 20th century.  Shopping the thrift stores is time consuming, but finding the perfect 1960s mod tunic for $6 at Douglas Gardens can sometimes rival the enjoyment of creating historic-styled clothing, even for me. 

How do you research period costumes?
I own some great costume history source books that give a good overview of each definable "period".  This is a jumping off point for primary research such as portraits, photographs and museum photos of actual garments.  The Internet too is an amazing and convenient resource.

What have been your favorite productions to design?
I must begin with Seascape.  The entire production was a joy and everyone involved felt the uniqueness of the experience.  Many years ago, I designed Cabaret Verboten for Florida Stage, then the Pope Theatre.  That experience, while very challenging, allowed me to create some costumes that were as bold as any I had done to that date.  I think the success of that design and the production encourages me even now to go beyond my boundaries…within reason.  I would also like to mention two period shows I had the privilege of designing last season:  Intimate Apparel at Gablestage and The Impressionists at the Caldwell Theatre Company.  It is always exciting to do period work and the generosity of both Joseph Adler and Michael Hall allowed me to make those shows all I could have wanted them to be.

	Margery Lowe and Michael McKeeveras the lizards in Seascape. Amico won a Carbonell Awards for Best Costume Design for her work on this Palm Beach Dramaworks production

What is the biggest misconception about costume designing?
That it's easy and anyone can do it. 

What do you hope audiences notice about the costumes of any given show?
There are always a few subtle things, little inside jokes, that I include in each design that I hope even one person in the audience will discern.  It usually works in my favor because both my husband and my father-in-law are very perceptive people.

You won a Carbonell Award for your work on Seascape at Palm Beach Dramaworks, in which you created two lizard costumes.  How did you research and devise those costumes?
I think we need to write another article about that!  The overview is: Florida is home to lots of beautiful iguanas that you can glimpse on a canal or while taking a boat ride with your family, in my case.  Books on reptiles also littered my living room.  Close conversations with William Hayes, the director of the show and producing artistic director of Palm Beach Dramaworks. The generosity of Tim Dial, Costume Design professor at Florida Atlantic University, who allowed me to use his dress forms to create the padding that changed Margery Lowe and Michael McKeever's lithe human forms into reptilian figures. Spandex, fabric paint and dye, craft foam and micro beads.  Finally, I owe everything to the sheer talent and dexterity of Margery and Michael, who made the costumes into lizards.

Your husband is involved in theatre as well as a scenic designer.  What’s it like to be part of a theatre family?
We are lucky that we truly have a theatre family.  Michael and I have always enjoyed working together on projects, we have a similar aesthetic and I know that his sense of design and eye for detail improve my work.  Larger than that, though, is our extended family of parents and brothers and sisters who are always willing and interested in getting involved in a myriad of ways, including and especially babysitting.  They are the real reason that Michael and I can be as involved as we are with theatre in South Florida.

What’s the best thing about working in South Florida theatre?
The community of theatres in South Florida offers such a great variety of plays and events that in a short span of time I can design lizards, period underwear and goofy golf duds.

Upcoming Productions
Betrayal, March 9 to April 7; and Voice of the Prairie, May 11 to June 10 at Palm Beach Dramaworks
Lion in Winter, February 18 to April 1; and Cowgirls, April 8 to May 20 at the Caldwell Theatre Company