The Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts displays cases full of costumes and other theatre props that were once used on stage, courtesy of Theatre and Dance professor Lee Hodgson.
The costumes currently inhabiting the display cases in the Buchanan Center are from the musical, Rainy Day People which was produced in the fall of 2011. Retired professor Rebecca Hilliker directed the musical that was based on a one act play written by a student, with the story and music developed by Theatre and Dance lecturer Sean Stone.
“I try to rotate costumes (display items) on a regular basis, as interest for people passing through the Buchanan Center and of course for our patrons of the theatre who may have seen the production and will recognize the items,” Hodgson said in an email to the Branding Iron. “All of these items along with other items, far too numerous to count, are stored in a large room on site.”
Costumes play a large part in any production. They allow for performers to fully engulf into their character physically and give their best performance to the audience. The possibilities are limitless when it comes to creating a new character, as Hodgson says, from interesting physical and vocal choices to clothing that is from a different period or out of the ordinary, to makeup and hair that may be unrealistic.
Hodgson not only plays the largest role in supplying the display cases with costumes and other theatre items, he’s the costume designer for productions at UW and designs professionally as well.
“It is exciting to see a performer bring a character to life with our assistance,” Hodgson said.
His passion and drive for costume design grew from his interest in acting and directing with his most recent projects outside of UW including designing for Impression: Monet and Portrait of Dorian Gray for Open Stage in Fort Collins and the Nutcracker Ballet for the Springfield Ballet.
“The costume is a finishing touch for that performer, it brings the character to life and the combined effort of the production team transports the audience into another world,” Hodgson said.
When Hodgson was in graduate school at the California Institute of the Arts his graduate project was Happy End by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, directed by Robert Benedetti. Hodgson said the actors were having a difficult time understanding the characters and the storyline of the play up until the first fitting. That’s when the characters started to come to life through the performers.
“The actors saw in their clothing and their image, a direction,” Hodgson said. “That kind of discovery is why I am a costume designer.”
Out of all the costumes Hodgson has designed, his favorite lies in the costumes he designed for Dracula the ballet with choreography by professor Jennifer Deckert and story by professor Patrick Konesko. The costumes were Victorian in essence but designed to allow for all the movements within the ballet. The Steampunk design can also be seen in the latest UW production of The Robber Bridegroom.
The Buchanan Center display cases are ever changing and allow people to relive past performances and appreciate the art that is costume designing. It gives people the chance to look at a creation once on stage and lets costumes and props get a breath of fresh air.
