GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE COSTUME - BY CRISTINE PATRICK

“You work in costumes?! That must be so much fun!!” I never tire of hearing this from the people I meet. It keeps the job refreshing to see my job from others’ perspective. It is not all frolicking through the woods with yardages of fabric billowing behind you in pursuit of costume inspiration destined for Project Runway. (I wish though. But there definitely is a lot of, “Make it work, people!!”)

When I first read a script, I read it for fun. If I enjoy the script and visualize it in my head before seeing the performers in their roles, I can hit the ground running. I realized early on that each one of these characters in THE BOOK CLUB PLAY are Matryoshka dolls or Russian Nesting Dolls. We meet each character in the beginning with their highest guard up and with their best face forward. I have the job of showing the nesting dolls as we shed the layers to get to the heart and most authentic self of each character. This is where the hard work truly begins!

The second time I read the script is for hints given by the playwright. The easiest character to costume from this play is Will. He mentions Brooks Brothers, so I now know he dresses well. From there, I research the Lookbooks for Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer 2025. Many of his costumes throughout the show are taken directly from those looks. I also tried to co-ordinate Will's costumes in alignment with Ana and Rob when I could (because of a plot point I won’t reveal), except for the end when he matches with childhood bestie, Jen (another non-spoiler). Sometimes that is what best friends do without even trying.

For many of the other characters, I had inklings of what spoke to me, but discovered more once in rehearsals with the performers uncovering their characters. For example, I always read Ana as warm colors in pinks, mauves, and dusty rose. As a well put-together woman, she dresses up formally as her protection. She also has the most to lose as the play advances out of her control, hence why she gradually loses her strong color and blazers as her armor crumbles. Rob, her husband, has his dark reds, grays, light blues and “golden retriever” khaki. He takes on others colors and doesn't have a definite color tone of his own. I made sure that he had an athleisure base to incorporate work and sport looks. Full of youth and rolling with what life dishes out, Jen touches on nature. What color is most of nature? Green! She anticipates blooming so as the play continues she gains flowers to eventually become her own garden.

The newest additions to book club have the most freedom. Lily bursts in with all the color. She brings brightness and fresh perspective to the book club. Kadijah took inspiration from a show called Not Dead Yet for Lily, so I researched Nell Serrano's looks on the show. When Chris, the director, and I chatted, he wanted to see a light airiness to Lily. Twistedly, Lily and Ana have almost the same transformation by the end of the play, but in different directions. While they both start in jackets and gradually lose them, Lily transforms from the professional heaviness inspired by Not Dead Yet to the lightness of kimono and caftan. Alex helps in this process. His inspiration was taken from my college professor, Dr. Bill King. May he rest in peace. We see a quirky, certified silly goose, lit professor with an affinity for Hawaiian shirts and homegrown bands. Again, we bring on the brightness of orange not present in the core group. Jen, Lily, and Alex radiate color, while Ana, Will, and Rob experience influence by color.

Working cohesively with the actors playing each character helps to further define and direct where the costumes should travel to from outer Matryoshka to the center. I hope you enjoy the journey of the costumes from start to end; it certainly is an excellent adventure. I work in costumes and, yes, it is SOOOO much fun!