COSTUMING & CHOICES w/ COSTUME DESIGNER, Abbie Hagen
Clothing can tell us so much about a person before they’ve ever opened their mouth. The clothing choices we make communicate information about who we are, whether we are aware of it or not. For a theatrical performance, it’s up to the costume designer to analyze and decode the characters, in order to discover what they might wear and why. This analysis is then used to create costume designs for the characters, to try to communicate something about who they are to the audience.
I’m Abbie Hagen, the costume designer for The First Snow of Summer with Seat of the Pants. Just a couple of weeks ago, I graduated from Kent State University with my MFA in Costume Design and Technology. Recently, I have designed quite a few big, splashy musicals, so I have been enjoying working on a more realistic, down-to-earth piece in The First Snow of Summer.
As the costume designer for The First Snow of Summer, it is my job to do the aforementioned character analysis to determine what each person should wear for performances. Seat of the Pants’ process involves significant collaboration from across the artistic and acting teams, meaning that I am not alone in my quest to make sense of these characters.
My process always begins with reading through the script multiple times, to get a strong foundational knowledge of the show. While doing this, I make notes of my impressions of the characters, along with any specific costuming challenges I anticipate. Then, the artistic team and acting company collaborated to discuss, investigate, and explore The First Snow of Summer. I attended several rehearsals, along with other members of the design team and the acting company, where we worked together to make sense of the show. These rehearsals informed my understanding of the characters and the world they inhabit.
I took the information gleaned from the rehearsal exercises and used it to interrogate my original impressions of the characters. Some of my first thoughts held true while others shifted to better fit into the collaborative world we had begun to build. From this, I began to research what clothing I felt each person should wear based on their personality, status in life, and relationships with the other characters. I put together collages of images for each person, which ultimately developed into the renderings shown in this post. These drawings are a reference tool for myself and the artistic team, helping to communicate my thoughts on how the characters should look, and reminding me of that vision while executing the design.
With all the conceptual decisions made, it’s time for me to make sure each performer has clothing to wear. I can analyze and illustrate all I want, but performers can’t wear concepts or drawings. For a contemporary show like The First Snow of Summer, I love to go to thrift stores and see what I can find that fits my vision. I supplement these finds with pieces purchased online and things pulled from costume storage until each person has a full look. This is the part of the process I am in now, and in the coming weeks, I will be moving into fitting these costume pieces, to make sure they’re perfect for each performer.
Finally, after all the clothing has been chosen, fit, and is performance-ready, it’s time for one of the most exciting parts of the process: dress rehearsals! These rehearsals are the first time the artistic team gets to see all the parts of the show together, which is always thrilling. It also means the show will soon be ready for audience members to watch. I am so excited for The First Snow of Summer to reach this phase so audiences can meet this fascinating bunch of characters!
