Behind the Scenes
Ellis Tillman

Ellis Tillman

Name: Ellis Tillman

Occupation: Costume Designer

City of residence: Miami

Credits and Awards:
Winner of three Carbonell Awards.

How long have you been working in South Florida Theatre?
Twenty-six years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, I was at the Oslo in Sarasota two years before, and have been at Actor’s Playhouse for a year and a half, so I guess it’s almost 30 years.

What inspired you to become a costume designer?
I love going to the theatre. It’s live every night, and as a costume designer I’m creating new characters, changing people into someone totally different. With costumes, with make-up, hair, I’m creating characters. I’m creating a new person out of a raw material of an actor.

Cherilyn Franco and Jim Ballard in Ellis Tillman’s costumes for Urinetown last October at Actors’ Playhouse

How long have you been a costume designer?
I graduated with a degree in graphics and photography from the University of Georgia. I also studied painting—I used to stand at an easel and paint. After graduating, I worked as a graphic artist, but I didn’t like it, I found it tedious. I started working in summer stock, and I was told by a colleague that I should continue my education—this time towards earning a degree in costume design and to pursue a career in designing costumes. I attended FSU, graduated with a degree in costume design. I landed an internship at the Oslo (Sarasota), interned there for two years, and after my internship, I was hired by the Oslo. I was there until I received the call from the Coconut Grove Playhouse. They hired me away.

How much of what you design is indicated in the script and how much is your own imagination?
I would say 50 percent is dictated by the script, 35 percent is me and the rest are influences by the actor, along with director. It’s a collaborative effort—I don't live, design and work in a bubble. As people have different needs—playwright, director— together we work together to figure out what works to bring the character to life. Of course, there are certain givens with each script that relates directly to the character, a look that plays an integral role in the overall look of play. From there I put my own spin on it, interpret what would look good on the actor, on the stage, make the pieces and the necessary adjustments to bring it to life. I’m working with real people.

Playing Possum: One of Tillman’s designs for City Theatre’s Undershorts, part of the Summer Shorts Festival Photo: George Schiavone

How do you research period costumes?
There are several places I look to find the right look. I have my own library, and we’re lucky now to have the Internet—I can type it in and it pops up. We can look things up very quickly. In the past, I would have to go the library to research costumes, shoes and hairstyles for specific periods, and determine what would look good to show off the character, the actor, and places the play in a specific time that the viewer would understand. For a play placed in the early 17th, 18th centuries, I look at art books with paintings and drawings from that time. I also use a lot of movies, either from films made during that time, or learn how that film’s costume designer interpreted that time period. What’s always fun is to see how contemporary styles influence interpretation of a time period. For instance, Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor. She was dressed in a pointy bra, which was in style when that film was made. I love Hollywood movies; there was always a contradiction between real time and what goes on film. In a western, if there was a fight between two characters their hair and make-up would paradoxically look perfect. It wouldn’t matter if the character was floating on an iceberg, she would look good floating on that iceberg.

What are the challenges involved in costuming contemporary plays?
I know what's best for the character, even though the real person may think they might know best because we are living in the same time. I’ve heard it so many times, “I can bring this in from home.” Yes, they can bring in a pair of slacks, but will the style of the slacks be what the character would wear. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I know what is best for the character. There are just as many diverse interpretations of what contemporary clothing is as there are with clothes designed to relate to a historical period of time. I am a costume designer, not a not a clothing designer. It is my job as a costume designer to interpret the character.

Tillman’s costumes for The Lieutenant of Inishmore at GableStage endured a bloodbath at every performance Photo: George Schiavone

What production has offered you the most challenges?
For The Lieutenant of Inishmore at GablesStage, five and a half gallons of blood would be thrown onto the costumes at every performance. We had three sets of costumes, and a full crew to wash the clothes after every performance. We couldn’t bring them to the Laundromat—they were “bloody.” And when we had back-to-back shows, we had to get everything washed, changed, fixed and make sure it didn't have blood stains.
For Disputation at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, the characters of kings and queens were wearing huge robes. I had to figure out how to make them look authentic, yet function in South Florida. The play took place in Northern Europe, where they customarily wore heavy clothes, but these were not necessarily clothes that were easy to act in.
Each play has a unique set of challenges. I know that it looks effortless, but sometimes dressing someone in contemporary clothes is harder than a period play because the audience doesn’t know what the character would wear in the 18th century, but they certainly think they know what someone would wear in the 20th century, and what it should look like.

What have been your favorite productions to design?
I enjoyed designing Urninetown. It had a gritty, unique look to it, it was a different sort of play our community sees. I liked working on White Christmas. It was fun because we were able to duplicate the movie a bit.

What’s the best thing about working in South Florida theatre?
There’s a diversity of plays and theatres. I learn something different from each experience. It makes me a more well-rounded costumer designer. I also get to work with a wide variety of performers and directors. I work on so many different projects that I never get stuck in a rut. This summer I had an opportunity to work on several plays at Summer Shorts, which has its own set of challenges: the number of plays to be designed in a short amount of time. And at Actors’ Playhouse, I work on musicals; at GableStage, I’ll work on a serious play set in Ireland, and the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, I’ll work with kids.

Tillman designed the costumes for the many plays in City Theatre’s Summer Shorts Festival, including Tina Tries the Tuba Photo: George Schiavone

Have there ever been any wardrobe malfunctions on stage?
There are always those: skirts or wigs that fall off. I worked on a project at the Ring Theatre with a fast change, and one character didn’t fasten her wig properly. She did the jitterbug holding onto to her hair. Or on a play with a lot of blood shooting out of furniture—we had to make sure during rehearsals, the characters were wearing their rehearsal clothes, otherwise all of the clothes would have been ruined. Years ago, for a production of Guys and Dolls, in the Hotbox scene, a character was holding onto her bustier, which was fastened with Velcro—sometimes it holds, and sometimes it doesn't. When I worked on Matador at the Playhouse, everyone in the finale was dressed in white. The character enters the stage from a cubicle in the back in stage fog. The wall caught on fire ignited by an electrical coil from the fog machine, and spread to the matador—the matador was on fire.

This is life in the life theatre. It’s a unique art. We are a part of a community that is a privilege to be a part of. How many of us are doing what we really want to do? In this business if you don't like project, in three weeks it will be over, gone, and a new project is just on the horizon with its own new set of issues. After Summer Shorts, I have a busy season. I’ll be working on the on the 200th anniversary of the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, working on 1776, etc. I’m very lucky to have this opportunity to do a lot of different things. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

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