Abby Normal's Guide to Style: falling leaves = opera season

ladies and gentlemen...

if you will draw your attention to the center of the stage...

and look very closely. closer.

can you see it.

no of course you cant I haven't dreamed it up yet!!

for those of you who know me well. you know I have been working as a costume designer off and on since I was in undergrad. I LOVE IT!!!- in small doses of course.

even theatre can be too structured for me some days. but it has taught me things I could never have imagined.

paitence, unbridled creativity, organization, and self worth

these are things you can only learn through experience. no family members, friends, or even education can teach you.

that being said, I have received obnoxious amounts of encouragement, you all know who you are. which makes the stressful anxiety and excitment that comes with show season bearable.

whats more fun than working with people you like, on a project that warms your sole, and provides you an outlet for creativity.

nothing. nothing is better. well maybe giving birth or saving someones life; but hey I haven't tried those yet, so... Costuming an opera it is.

for some of you FALL means back to school. sharpened pencils. honey crisp apples. boots and sweaters. but for others, my little theatre family- its crunch time!

I can almost smell the opening and closing of stage curtains. I hear the whisper of vocal warmups. and yes, everyone hears the tapping of my cowboy boots as I run stairs.

these sounds and smells only mean one thing to me...

Opera Season.

Opera Season is a time of frenzy, esp. on Belmont University's Campus. you can't see it, and you wont smell it- but its there. all theatre costume departments will agree with me on that.

my good friends at the Belmont Opera department have invited me back as there Guest Costume Designer again this fall. having designed their last 2 shows, the anticipation is building. and as always I am blown away by the trust that Dr. Kristi Whitten gives to me to build her vision. and to be honest I enjoy the hell out of somehow being able to read her mind and translate her thoughts. ***knock on wood I can do it again this year.

this fall I begin the task of costuming Dialogues of the Carmelites. Nuns people, its about nuns. and I am honored. I feel sometimes designing a show that already has a specific look is the most challenging. Catholics be kind.

I am working with lots of my "oldy" students and several "fresh meat". (for those of you who need an Angela dictionary. Oldy = people I have worked with before, not old people. and FreshMeat = new people) I am super excited because some of these students I have worked with since the beginning of their college career. (TEAR) and some will graduate on me this spring. (cough) Susan.

thank you for the opportunity and lets kick some Carmelite butt.

and now photo time.

most of these have been stolen from Facebook but will be given all needed credits.
these are only a few of the shows I have been apart of:

Below: All photos by Rick Malkin

Nashville Shakespeare Fesitval

Loves Labors Lost 2010