Corset Workshops

Some photos from the TWO corset workshops we were invited to attend at Albright University.

Wrapping up and PANTS!!

It's finally the end of the longest winter ever. We are finishing our pants and taking our finals. Graduation is on Saturday and our students

are moving onward and upward.
Pictures are forthcoming of some awesome makeup finals and the students' work.
Meanwhile, Fiona wants you to GO SOAK UP SOME SUNSHINE.

The Rivals OPENS

Mrs. Malaprop in the WCU production of the Rivals. 

Region TWO ACTF National WINNER!!!

Samia Merrit from ARCADIA University, under the tutelage of one Alisa Sickora Kleckner, brings home the NATIONAL win from USITT in Fort Worth TX in the allied arts category. So PROUD!!!!!!
If you'd like to help-

Miss Samia Merritt won herself some national honors at USITT for her lovely puppet designs for "ALIVE!".  She was awarded a scholarship to an 8 week technical theatre intensive in Vegas that sounds just plain epic. In order for Sam to be able to actually go on this amazing trip (that is going to change her life, launch her career and provide  two months of happy-dances), she could use some financial help getting there, staying fed and paying her bills.  Below you will find a link to a Give Forward campaign created for Sam.  

http://gfwd.at/1gZWUXt

Or you can go to the Give Forward site and look up:

Sami-pants does Vegas

In all seriousness, thanks for your generosity.  Sam is an extraordinary person who deserves the world.  Let's help give it to her!

Grace made a perfect buttonhole!

Another opening, another show

We opened Machinal this week.   Our lovely costumes were designed by Philadelphia designer, Megan Prima. You can still see this insightful and fascinating piece by Sophie Treadwell about a woman in the 1920's her choices and her life. Tickets at  tickets.wcupa.edu

Additionally, my cohort, Alisa and I designed costumes for the hilarious (the word is overused, but is really accurate here) The Mystery of Irma Vep at the Hedgerow theatre in Media Pa

That runs thru April 6th. You can get tickets for that at hedgerowtheatre.org

Don't miss these!

SPRING 2014 Is BEGINNING

My classes start tomorrow. WOOT. I'm putting the finishing touches on my syllabi and prepping for classes. I hope you all had a great vacation. ACTF was exciting and theatrically fun. There were so many great workshop and cool people.  Now back to reality. (woop there goes gravity). Stop in the shop and say Hey to me and Fiona. Here is a pretty picture and some interesting fashion history for you.

From glamoursplash.com

1953 Claire McCardell Swimsuit

Claire McCardell went to school at Paris Parsons and graduated in 1928. While McCardell’s 1930s innovations such as mix-and-match separates were brilliant, America’s isolation from Paris couturiers, as well as the shortage of materials available during World War II, ultimately gave spark to her real ingenuity and vision.

Cutting fashionable dresses and pantsuits out of government surpluses of cotton weather balloons, McCardell’s fashions were not just frugal, they created a new ease in women’s clothing that demanded its own category: sportswear. Not to be confused with today’s Lycra-infused active wear, ladies sportswear of the 1940s took its name from the simple fact it let women move, hands free, through their daily lives.

Leaving behind the restriction of the corsets, girdles, and fussy fabrics, McCardell’s cotton and denim dresses hung from the shoulders, flattering a variety of different body shapes. By applying her sportswear ideal to every possible application—from day wear to evening wear, from swimwear to accessories—McCardell’s disregard for convention resulted in fresh, versatile designs with real staying power.