My education.

I figured today's post would be about my education; specifically my costume work. I took extensive literature and theater courses SUNY Oswego. My focus was technical theater: costume construction and design. I took Costume Construction which was the basic sewing class my first semester. I was in the "advanced" group since I went into the class knowing how to sew. My final project was an Elizabethan "court" dress. I put quote in quotes since it is far from historically accurate and not anywhere near fancy enough to be actual court wear. I learned about pattern adjustments, the importance of a mock-up as well as a lot about running a show in this class. I also took Costume History which was basically a survey course in the history of clothing. It was a lot of fun and I would love to take more classes on the subject. I also took a Costume Design course which was also a lot of fun. I learned to read and analyze a script, plot out what costumes were needed and make sure the costumes reflected the characters.

A large part of the Theater experience at Oswego is working on the productions. I worked the wardrobe crew for MacBeth, The Apple Tree, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Renaissance Madrigal Banquet and Little Footsteps. Working wardrobe is handling the costumes for the actual run of the production. It incudes a lot of laundry, steaming and ironing and handling quick changes. I was assistant designer on Diary of Anne Frank and The Traveler. I did construction on too many other projects to name and also helped design a dance showcase. Oswego gave a lot of opportunities for budding designers with great mentoring and instruction. I had a lot of knowledge to take onto my two internships at Glimmerglass Opera and the Mac-Hayden Theater. I was wardrobe at Glimmerglass and did construction and design at the Mac-Hayden. Subsequently I have been sewing a lot for myself and work with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company.

While a lot of my sewing education came from my experiences at Oswego I have also learned a lot from books, blogs, and plain instinct. Some people are naturally talented and sewing is definitely my "natural" talent.