Stage Style
The Magic Flute, 2014-2015 season
‘ArtBeat Nation’ offers sneak peek into elaborate
costume creation process.
Viewers will get an exclusive look behind the scenes of Arizona’s multi-city signature opera company, Arizona Opera, and catch a sneak peek into the elaborate costume creation process on an all-new ArtBeat Nation on Aug. 30 at 5 p.m.
In this local Arizona feature of the art series, viewers will get an inside view of the Arizona Opera costume shop and learn how costumes make the journey from ideas in the director’s mind to period-correct, couture garments that dazzle on stage. The process is led by costume shop manager Kathleen Trott, who explains how costume designers work closely with the opera’s director to ensure all costumes reflect each character’s individual personality.
“Costuming is about more than looking good on stage,” Trott says. “Costumes also make a statement about who the characters are as people, and can even play an integral role in showing how characters change and evolve throughout a performance.”
As Trott details in the segment, designers conduct research before creating each garment to ensure they accurately portray the dress of particular time periods, professions and other key aspects of each character. This behind-the-scenes spotlight takes viewers step-by-step through the complex process of costume creation, including sketching, cutting, draping, sewing and fitting. Costumes go through several phases and are worked on by many hands across various disciplines before actors don the garments. A sketch team creates drawing based on the director’s vision, and once approved, a team of artisans combine their talents to bring the vision to life.
Take a behind-the-scenes view of the costume creation
process on an all-new "ArtBeat Nation" premiering
Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. on Arizona PBS.
“It’s stunning to see how much work and preparation goes into creating the breathtaking costumes featured on stage,” says Jennifer Burke, ArtBeat Nation producer at Arizona PBS.
ArtBeat Nation is a weekly arts series highlighting the rich tapestry of arts stories from across the country, featuring artists, writers, composers and performers setting the pulse of the arts in America now. It airs Sundays at 5 p.m. on Arizona PBS.
