Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
In “White Christmas,” a post-World War II, ’50s winter wonderland sparkles before audiences’ eyes. In “Mulan,” a stylized version of ancient China mirrors the cels of the animated Disney film. In “The Secret Garden,” audiences travel to colonized India then to the gothic moors.
Peach State Summer Theatre presents each of these eras and worlds with close attention to detail from voices to sets, but it has been Esther Iverson’s job to create the look for each character, to create the wardrobe to reflect each show’s style.
Iverson designed the costumes for all three shows in PSST’s 2010 season.
Designing costumes for each performer in each show sounds like an overwhelming task. But principal characters wear a variety of costumes in each show and the supporting and ensemble performers play several characters in each show.
Yet, Iverson seems to take these costumes and costume changes in stride. She’s had a lifetime of experience.
“I’ve always sewn,” Iverson says. “Since I was 4 years old, I started sewing for my dolls. Growing up on a small farm if you wanted clothes, you had to make them yourself.”
Both for herself and her dolls that also meant designing clothes.
“I’ve always been interested in the design and the making of clothes,” she says. “I’ve been fortunate to find someone willing to pay me for what I love to do for free.” Iverson has been working with costumes professionally for several years. She worked as the costume shop supervisor for Minnesota State University Theatre Department and as the costume designer for Highland Summer Theatre in Mankato, Minn., for 16 years. Earning a master’s in costume design from MSU, she taught two years at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Last summer, she arrived at VSU as an assistant professor of theatre and dance. She designed costumes for several shows during the past VSU Theatre & Dance season. Designing costumes for PSST! seemed only natural.
“Since I’m here all year, it seemed to only make sense that I would work with the summer shows,” Iverson says. “I tried getting a head start on what we needed. So I was able to get a handle on all three shows.”
While the schedule of the shows determines which production receives the most intense attention, Iverson began working on each show’s costumes simultaneously.
“I prefer to do it like that,” she says. “We have to.” “Mulan” opened two weeks after “White Christmas.” “The Secret Garden” opened a week later. “If I didn’t work on them simultaneously, we would have never been ready for all of the shows.”
For “White Christmas,” Iverson didn’t really need to watch the old Bing Crosby-Danny Kaye movie to create the designs for the 1950s clothing, or the World War II uniforms in the show’s opening, or the red-and-white splendor of the closing number’s Christmas costumes.
For “The Secret Garden,” she had a helping hand with many of the costumes on loan from a past production of the show. One might think designing costumes for Disney’s “Mulan” would be easy but transferring those images from the cartoon to the live show created challenges. “If people have seen the movie, especially children, they have certain expectations,” Iverson says. “If Capt. Shang doesn’t look like Capt. Shang from the movie, those children will let you know.”
For “Mulan,” the movie served as the template for her designs, but Iverson had to temper the animated costumes with the realities of Peach State’s budget.
“In reality, we can’t really duplicate what they have in the film and come in on budget,” she says. “So, we find creative alternatives.”
