“That’s the way I like to work,” she notes. Stalin is another example. — at Artur & Tailors Ltd. And 11 or 12 plays with Garland Wright at the Guthrie. I’m not only dealing with different plays, but with different directors. So you have to have the skill to extract a design idea. In Fugard’s most recent play, My Children! There’s no one I feel as comfortable with talking about the entire play.”, Similar sentiments are expressed by the directors Hilferty works with often, particularly Ott, Athol Fugard, Robert Woodruff, Des McAnuff and Carole Rothman. There’s a great Southern expression, “Well, shut my mouth,” for that magic moment when you know that you have somehow combined all of these things into the design. Hilferty grew up in a big family in Arlington, Massachusetts, where her greatest source of joy was the library. She works very, very well with directors in terms of helping a director achieve an exaggerated vision without it seeming cute or gratuitous.”, Another frequent collaborator is director Robert Woodruff, who characterizes Hilferty’s approach as “not about answering questions, more about bringing them up. And sometimes you can do something huge with a character. What is the quality of Elsinore—I mean, is it heavily armed? I’ve worked with the greatest directors in the world. And I like that it builds slowly within the idea of the production.”. As the scene begins there’s the sense, in my head, that almost all takes place in darkness. For me, as a not-for-profit baby, that’s where my heart has been, because I really believe in theater in terms of its connection to a community. When I did all my work with Garland Wright, he almost always began our conversations with what the play sounded like. I’ve always been a reader—a close reader. The other part is how we all work with the other collaborators: what happens in the rehearsal room, in the cauldron—the place where it really matters. Signature Theatre (New York City) New York Wicked 2003. “It made him look as if he had gotten older in this suit, shrunk within the suit,” she notes. “In costumes, I always start sketching,” Hilferty says. “In fittings,” she adds, “this show was hilarious. So I actually always start there. I was really connected to what people called Conceptual Art, like Laurie Anderson, Claus Oldenberg. Oh! Hilferty had the characters’ clothes stiffened to look as if a stiff breeze was blowing them. I hope that reading critically is a learned experience. So I would never go into a meeting saying, “It has to be set in the Twenties.” I wouldn’t even know how to get there. Hamlet is such an interesting play because, for the actor who is playing the role, so much happens before he even comes on. I chose to go to Syracuse University, where I was in the arts school and I minored in fashion design, so I was learning how to make clothes and understanding them, but I was also a painting as a major. Winner TDF/Irene Sharaff Award for Lifetime Achievement . A Lesson From Aloes (Nov 17, 1980 - Feb 08, 1981) Costume Design by Susan Hilferty; PlayOriginal. Susan Hilferty. Sometimes you get to tell the story that way. Susan Hilferty: In Wicked, I was drawn to the relationship between the two vastly different central women, but especially to the character of Elphaba, who is ostracized by her community … For me, designing the costumes always starts with the play. Sort by; Costume Design; Costume Design Broadway; Costume Design Off-Broadway; Costume Design National Tour; Costume Design International; Costume Design Dance; Costume Design Opera; Costume Design Film & TV; Costume Design Regional; Set Design ; Directing; Upcoming: Aida . Do I remember their stories?” But when you go to a play, to Hamlet, it’s three hours long and you know everything about this person: you know their lineage, their history, their deepest, darkest thoughts, their experiences. But now that new actors are doing it, they’re different: emotionally, physically. “She doesn’t just talk in terms of the line of the clothes. I didn’t even know what theater design was. A close collaborator of Athol Fugard and a designer of Broadway and off-Broadway productions, as well as the chair of the design program at Tisch School of the Arts, Susan Hilferty discusses the importance of dramaturgy in the design process. Live Design: Wicked is, obviously, a piece that has captured millions of hearts and imaginations for nearly 20 years.What was it about that particular show that initially caught your attention? Bolshoi Theatre, … Susan Hilferty Biography Awards Tony Award for Best Costume Design for Wicked. It bleeds. And that they will design based on the text. I never look to find another period that it might fit. 2019 . Even the first entrance is critical: when he comes on, does he move off. For Tooth of Crime’s Crow at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Hilferty used animal imagery and luxurious, unusual fabrics to fashion the look of the “post rock ‘n’ roll bad guy.” For Crow’s robe (sketch, above), which could be pushed back to hang off the shoulders, she used velvet hand-painted in mineral colors. “We used the word ‘stupid’ as a compliment,” Hilferty recalls, laughing, “ ‘Really stupid’ was high applause.”. Facsimile costume design for Elphaba in Shiz University uniform in Wicked , music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, Gershwin Theatre, New York, 30 October 2003. Susan Hilferty. Her approach meshed with Michael Yeargan’s set (photo, below right), clear shapes on a graphic surface. “Reading was my entertainment.” says Hilferty, whose interest in art and designing clothing led to her making all of her own clothes by the age of 12. Wicked "Chistery" Flying Monkey Costume Design By Susan Hilferty. I’ve always been able to live with that. Hamlet takes place in a very brief time period. Hamlet is also one of those plays that’s really driven by one character, seen through his eyes. For me, it has a sense of movement, a sense of drive. When I first joined, I did so for two reasons: the story, and Joe Mantello, the director. “There was a real storybook quality to it,” she notes. And for somebody else to know what you’re talking about, you need to put it down on paper even if in the most crude manner.”. Hilferty … I came back to New York and knew I was going to be a designer. For him, it was “This is the music that I hear in relationship to this play.” And that has always been the stepping stone to where the design would go. Winner Costume Society of America for CSA Costume Design Award … I think that’s the secret. There are always things that are vestigial—that, when you did it the first time, needed to be fixed. Since then she has lent her skills to an eclectic range of projects in theatres across the country and overseas. Under the appropriate lighting it also came to life as the tile floor for the interior classroom scenes. We’re never not talking about the craft.”. Nomination Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Set Design Hamlet. I almost always begin the exploration of a play in my head in the time that it’s written. Costume Design By Susan Hilferty . For Luce in the Flying Karamozov Brothers’ Comedy of Errors at Lincoln Center (sketch,below right), Hilferty “tried to make her a combination of the adorable and the grotesque,” with a French maid’s outfit, blood-spattered apron, and torn fishnet stockings. 2020. Hilferty came to theater and design in college, where she began study as an art major, a painter, at Syracuse University. What is the purple flower? Initially, Hilferty says, “Nobody had a clue what we were doing. I started teaching at NYU in 1992, and I think this is my seventh year as chair. I’m actually one of the few people who is ultimately disappointed in where we went. There is no set route for me in terms of what I talk about with a director. A painting and fashion design student at Syracuse University, Hilferty’s interest in theatre and design took off during a year abroad in London where she went to the theatre three or four nights a week. And I approach each play differently, so I wait for the script to give me, not information, but inspiration. Spring Awakening "Melchior" Costume Print 8/50 By Susan Hilferty. We have to be so close to the actor’s journey that we actually get to see the actor in both lives. “That’s an impossible question to answer. My Africa! These are certainly questions the dramaturg should ask, but if the costume designer doesn’t also ask the questions, they aren’t getting at that world. I’m extremely lucky. I loved working at the Guthrie, because I knew I was connecting with a whole community in Minnesota. Wicked - Munchkinland (Mar 07, 2009 - Present) Costume Design by Susan Hilferty MusicalOriginal. Everything I do is in response to a text. What is the event? Then you have the scenes inside. Designers on Design: Susan Hilferty by Beth Howard on January 5, 1990 When Sharon Ott decided to set the Berkeley Repertory’s production of Twelfth Night in the 1920s, costume designer Susan Hilferty suggested the director read Roger Shattuck’s The Banquet Years , a novel based in the period of France a few years prior to that roaring era. We’re dealing with the three dimensions of a space—a living space— but we’re also dealing with time and silences. There were leaps in there and overlaps, but the viewer said, ‘I’ll buy that.’ It didn’t feel forced.”. You can’t truly browse. Susan Hilferty Bio, Photos, Theatre Credits, Stage History - Has designed more than 200 productions for theatres across America and internationally. But the NEA, and the fact that the budgets have been cut back, that’s a crime. What’s its importance? It was very, very simple—you could figure it out afterward. Hilferty's Broadway credits include the costumes for Wicked, Lestat, Spring Awakening, Radio Golf, Assassins, the revival of Into the Woods, Jitney, Dirty Blonde, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The costume designer’s job is very complicated, because not only do you have to know (which is a whole job in itself) how to design clothes, color, fabric, and construction, but the second part is to understand real history so that you can actually identify what you would do in 1776. That heart shaped bodice with boning? For Uncle Vanya at the Center Stage in Baltimore, Hilferty used silhouettes from the play’s period (sketch, above left) and worked with a clean surface to which she added some small, reduced patterns and simple gestures such as a flower or a brooch. … Saved by Milena Radeva Broadway Costumes Wicked Costumes Theatre Costumes Look Fashion High Fashion Mens Fashion Fashion Design Fantasy Costumes Character Outfits For her, design is not really possible without paying close attention to details and uncovering them as a professional dramaturg would. It used to be a long list of about 200 plays, but I have actually shortened the list to about 15. He is also wearing galoshes. Susan Hilferty : Costume Design. Museum Number S.259-2017. I call myself a not-for-profit baby, because that’s what I do. Susan Hilferty is an American costume designer for theatre, opera, and film. 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