COSTUMER/PROP THANK YOU’S

From Amanda Clardy, Costume Chairperson:

Each time I agree to costume one of Matt’s shows, I start out thinking that it will be less involved than the previous ones. And each time I surprise myself with the knowledge that it takes just as much creativity, effort, and most importantly, a village of incredible volunteers to make the costumes as special as the artistic team, cast, and crew deserve it to be. The amount of volunteers we had this time was larger than ever and we wouldn’t have pulled it off without their talents and time. There were people who helped who didn’t have children in the cast, were on other show committees, all of whom were juggling their own personal commitments and work. Here are just a few special accomplishments made by this incredible team:

Caroline Sanchez made Mrs. Potts from scratch – no pattern, only a general vision from me! She used fabrics from her personal closet for that costume, but also account for many other pieces that you see on stage, such as aprons, hats, shawls, and more! She was a great sounding board for many of my crazy ideas!

Lisa Littlejohn made the welcome mat and salt and pepper shakers from scratch. Again, with no pattern to follow. She and her partner in crime, Nina John, also did countless alterations despite the fact that I promised both of them at the start that there would be very few! I’m thankful I was wrong because the three of us spent many hours at my house, sewing, laughing, and having fun!

Tricia Roberts gets my “hot glue gun queen” award – she suffered through many burn blisters on her hands to make so many of the incredible head pieces you see in the show, from the wolves’ ears to silverware crowns to almost all of the headpieces in “Be our Guest!”

Kirstin Marx, Terese Stambaugh, Heather Endicott, Katie Rayners, and Vanessa Harvey, all stepped in with willingness when I asked for help on specific projects! And Kirstin’s expertise in pairing colors and patterns was invaluable to me as we pulled the townsperson costumes together. And my dark horse for this show was Amanda Selby. Halfway through the costume process, which takes several months before the show begins, I quickly realized I needed help. With many of the Beauty and the Beast costumes being more prop-like than a standard clothing piece, I found myself swirling for hours about how to make a human look like an object. After I asked for Amanda’s advice a couple times, she quickly became my go to person for nearly every idea I had to bounce off someone. She ran the props committee, but she was also a huge partner on the costume committee, and the show would not have looked as good without her talents and willingness to walk alongside me in this process!

And of course, my thanks goes to Matt Corsaro and Amy Stine, both of whom received late night or early morning texts from me with question after question about who stands where, who does what tricks, who has a quick change, etc. Thank you for letting me run with my vision for the show and supporting me along the way!

From Amanda Selby, Props Chairperson:

A huge thank you to the entire Prop Team for their ingenuity and hard work in making and procuring all the props and set dressings for this show. Thank you Tanya Hall, Ashley Mahaffey, Natasha Moskalenko, Elena Smolina, Nina Trapeznikova and Sarah Vickers – I appreciate all your time, your talents and your dedication to this production and to our school.