Courtney McMullin
performer. designer. pursuer of creativity.
Press Release
Costume Designing
September 26, 2016 Cedar City, UT
I costume designed for an independent production of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Costume designing entails hours of research, meetings, and creative thinking. I was in charge of designing a cohesive costume for every actor and character involved in this production. It was my responsibility to ensure that all the costumes were historically accurate to the time period and style that the director had chosen. The biggest challenge I faced was only having access to the clothes of the actors and people that they knew. Because of my limited resources, I had to work extra hard to find ways that personal items could be altered and modified to mimic the fashion trends of the late 50’s through the mid 70’s.
My inspiration for this project came about during my Junior year while taking a costume construction class. I learned how to build certain costume pieces but was also exposed to the skills that are used by costume designers. I had also had the opportunity to work on several wardrobe crews for productions at SUU. This meant that I got to help organize costumes; listen to the ideas, research and inspiration for costume concepts and designs; and perform minor modifications to specific pieces. Because of this exposure I decided that I wanted to develop those skills for myself. And so, this project was born and I set out to design and find costume pieces for 12 actors.
At suu we are asked to create and carry out what is called an "EDGE" project. We create a project that we believe will help further our education and help us gain real world experience in our field. The reason I chose this particular project was because it helped me to gain, and strengthen, marketable skills that I will be able to use in my field after I graduate. While I hope that I will be able to act and perform all throughout my life, I understand that that will not always be the case. As a result, when I am not performing, I still want to be able to work in the theatre department. By completing this project, I will be able to apply for costuming positions and continue working in the field that I love as a well rounded actress.
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Courtney McMullin
801-318-4254