UW-W Theatre/Dance – Behind the Curtain

With just over a month till the opening night of Thornton Wilders play Skin of our Teeth, the UW-W Theatre/Dance departments cast and design team is in full swing.  The set, costumes and lights have been designed, the actors have been cast and the blocking has started. Now just wait to take a peek into the entertaining roller coaster ride that is the life of the Antrobus family. This modern adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s play takes the audience on a comedic journey through typical days in the life of a typical family: George and Maggie Antrobus, their children, Gladys and Henry, and their maid, Sabina. They awkwardly and amusingly struggle with school yard injuries, climate change, marital infidelity, a great war, leadership roles, children’s clothing choices, rationing, and familial disputes, among a host of others. No matter how hard the Antrobus family tries, problems continue to surface, but they always find a solution-by the skin of their teeth.

Student Scenic Designer James Marek showing his model of the set

Designing a Children’s touring show is no small matter, that’s why experienced costume designer Marshall Anderson was called in to tackle UW-W new show, Winnie the Pooh. Here is a short question and answer segment from an interview with Marshall Anderson

How much did your knowledge of the classic Winnie the Pooh characters factor into making your designs?

-  Actually, I don’t remember reading much of WINNIE THE POOH when I was little or even watching the Disney version, so I did quite a bit of research to see what the classic Disney characters looked like.

Did the fact that this is a touring show play into your choices? How So?

-  Since the show is touring, I tried to make all of the costumes rather simple -easy to get on and off and not too many pieces.  Also, there are no face coverings, which would muffle the actors’ voices.  I tried to come up with designs which would look fun but yet be easy to pack up and tour to the next site.

How realistic are the designs? Will children need to extend their belief or are the costumes pretty straight forward?

-  The designs are all based on the Disney version but then are simplified – being based on a zip-front jumpsuit.  All of the characters will have hoods with ears but the children will have to imagine what the characters’ faces look like – none of the actors wear animal noses, for example.  Also, the actors wear fingerless gloves, dyed to match their costumes, so that they have ease in picking things up.  The kids should easily identify the characters, without them wearing exact duplicates of the Disney look.

Do you feel that children’s shows need to have a more literal design so that children will be able to identify the characters?

-  I don’t think that the children’s shows have to be more liberal than other shows – the important things I have found is to make clear and strong choices so that the kids don’t get confused.  With this show, since most of them will know the Disney version, it was important to me to follow those guidelines so that the kids won’t be confused.  I have added a necktie here and there, but basically they will look like Disney.  It is also important, I feel, to use bright colors to keep the kids’ interest.

What’s your favorite part about designing costumes in general?

-  My favorite part of designing costumes is coming up with something which will really aid the audience in understanding the play and really aid the actors in portraying their characters.

What was the most difficult about this designing process?

-  The really only difficult part of designing this WINNIE THE POOH was trying to find a hot pink fabric with big black stripes for Piglet’s shirt.  After looking for 3 months, I gave up and made the fabric by adding black ribbons stripes to some pink fabric.  Otherwise, it was fairly easy to find the fabrics in the colors that I needed.

Did everything turn out as you envisioned it would?

- So far, I think everything will work out well.  I am almost done with the fittings and everything looks like I had planned it! 

Photo by Gregg Thuene

Sitting down with student lighting designer Alyssa Windell gives an inside look at what it’s like designing a main stage show and much more. 

 Did you have any input on what show you would be doing this semester? Did you choose to design lights for Ladies of the Camellias or was it assigned to you?                                                                                                                                                  - I actually didn’t choose this show to work on but I’m very glad I ended up on Ladies of the Camellias. 

What kind of research did you do for this show?
- The majority of my research for this show was based in the history of stage lighting.  I focused mainly on gas lighting; how it lit the stage, its color and effect on the audience of the time.

What did you find the most enjoyable in the lighting design process?
- I found the history surrounding this whole production the most enjoyable; the staging and the real life actors. 

What was the most challenging?
- The most difficult part was honestly the mechanics of lighting the space.  This is my first main stage production as well as my first production in Barnett so that presented its own problems.  Eric Appleton’s set design also created some interesting challenges for lighting.

What did you learn while doing this project?
- I’ve learned a lot about working on larger projects and balancing it with school work. 

What is your next big project in the UW-W Theatre/Dance Department?
- My next big projects would be Master Electrician for Skin of Our Teeth and a piece in Dance Scapes ’10 next semester.

Check out Alyssa’s lighting design for The Ladies of the Camellias October 6^th-10^th in Barnett Theatre. Tickets information is available at the UW-W Theatre/Dance Department website.

It is that time of year again when the UW-W Children’s Touring Show is starting to gear up. This year’s tale will be Winnie the Pooh and with the cast list announced earlier this week, things can really get rolling. The history of the Children’s Tour though is just as exciting as the plays themselves and it all began with Dr. Fannie Hicklin.

Dr. Fannie Hicklin held the positions of teacher, director and administrator during her 24 years at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  In 1964, she became the university’s first African-American faculty member.  During her career at UW-Whitewater Dr. Hicklin directed more than 50 theatre productions and initiated both the summer Theatre-in-the-Park and the Touring Children’s Theatre programs.  She also served as the Associate Dean of Faculties and the Chair of the Theatre/Dance Department.

Not only did she tour with her cast of characters around October/November, but Dr. Hicklin also created an outdoor children’s touring show in the summer that would travel to perform in different outdoor settings.  After Dr. Hicklin stepped down, Professor Gorden Hedahl took the driver seat when it came to directing the seasonal children’s show. Not only did he continue the excellence that Hicklin set, but he challenged the cast of university students to excel in other ways as well. Hedahl taught an actual academic course all about “Children’s Theatre” and the variety of acting styles that go into it. Also instead of him personally selecting a show to do, he would cast a group of about 10 student performers and then they would write a story as a team using different types of improv games and activities to develop scenarios, everyone got a chance to contribute to the storytelling process on and off the stage.

Current director Dr. Charles “Skip” Grover took over after Hedahl, which basically brings us to today. Skips first children’s show at UW-W was The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which he still has a picture of the cast in his office today. Skip believes that the tour is beneficial for many reasons. The tour is all about arts activism by giving young kids a chance to experience theatre at an early age and have the opportunity to be entertained outside of the age of electronics. Also it gives his students a chance to experience what it is like to be a part of a touring show, a lot of current work in theatre is in touring companies, where they will be in one city performing a matinee and in a different area code later that night performing again. It also gives his stage managers the opportunity to work in different atmospheres dealing with different tech directors. All in all it’s a fun and learning experience for all involved.

For more information on how to see this year’s Children’s Show Winnie the Pooh, on the Barnett stage before it hits the road, visit the UWW Theatre/Dance department website.

In Paris 1897, two great Divas, or as some may say “Actresses”, collided and push their rivalry to the max by making plans to perform the same character, in the same play, in the same theatre, less than 24 hours apart…Imagine the drama that ensues! Well that question can be answered when you attend UW-Whitewaters production of The Ladies of the Camellias October 6^th-10^th. But in the mean while we can give you a few sneak peeks at what the production team has been doing to set up our own Barnett stage to match the enchantment that happened over 100 years ago.

The mood will be set!!!  When thinking about what it takes to bring audiences into the world of a play, sound designing and engineering sometimes is over shadowed to sets, lights, and costumes. Well student sound designer Cassie Schillo is trying her best to change that and she has been working extensively with director Angela Iannone to find just the right sound and music design to create a world that no one from the 21^st century has ever entered before. There will be movements from the actual Opera La Dame aux Camélias being played and you might even get a chance to hear Sarah Bernhardt’s voice on a gramophone before you enter the theatre. Prepare to come early and check out the lobby display to learn more about these historical figures.  An introductory waltz will also be preformed when the show is about to start, so don’t plan on making a fashionably late entrance… those are reserved for the two Divas of the night Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse themselves.

Check out the full synopsis of Ladies of the Camellias at the official UW-Whitewater Theatre/Dance website where ticket information is also available…

Stay tuned for more to come!