While theaters remain dark amid the coronavirus pandemic , the light still shines for costume design professor Judith Dolan .
DOLAN HAS BEEN A PART of UC San Diego ’ s theater and dance department for more than 20 years and has created theatrical costumes for nearly every era of fashion . In 1997 , she received the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of Candide , her carnivalesque take on the dark satire set in 18th-century Europe — a period she had to research heavily , as she does with all her projects . “ It ’ s not just about information ,” she says . “ It ’ s about creating an emotional landscape for this world you ’ re going to help to create with your collaborators .”
This research often leads her to collage as a way to assemble and experiment with ideas . “ It ’ s through collage that I visually edit the world ,” says Dolan . “ You begin to edit what you ’ re imagining , determining the things you ’ re going to use .” From there she puts pen and brush to paper for the costume design , folding in the background knowledge to the characters and their wardrobes . Here ’ s a small glimpse into her process — view more designs and her full-size drawings at tritonmag . com / dolan
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Collage for Travesties “ This show by Tom Stoppard is full of games , puns , and secret little things that he plugs into the text — so I took his writing style and incorporated it into my collages , which likewise have little secret things in them . It ’ s a contrast between two worlds , a slightly ridiculous tea party set against a very dark landscape of World War I .”
“ Lady Mummer ” from Candide “ A costume is a kinetic sculpture , designed to move . Part of the engineering is to find the right fabric and cut so it moves the way you want . The ensemble here is based on 19th-century circus costumes for lady acrobats . Every member had different trims and colors , but they all had the same silhouette and a kind of sweetness .”
“ Mary Phagan ” and “ Jim Conley ” from Parade “ For these two characters , I wanted to tie in the plight of the African-American man in the early 1900s , with that of the mill child . It was a statement about class and finding ways to ask , ‘ What are our similarities rather than our differences ? What binds us together ?’ So I made sure that their burlap aprons were the exact same fabric .”
THERE WILL BE A SECOND ACT for the performing arts , says Dolan . Through the most difficult of times , it is the creative arts that have lifted our spirits , helping us process , recover , and heal .
“ Theater teaches interhuman collaboration and appreciation — let ’ s find the bridges , let ’ s find the things that connect to us and find how can we move forward ,” says Dolan . “ I can ’ t think of a better model as we struggle with some really difficult questions , like COVID-19 and the social and racial issues we ’ re facing now . The theater arts are more important than ever before — it ’ s something we ’ ll always need .”
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