April 20, 1984

Newsroom 985-2131

IN THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT

SECTION

FASHION « FOOD TRAVEL

Playing dress-up is serious business

SOME PEOPLE never grow too old to play dress- up. Theirs are the worlds of fashion and theatre, two realms in which it can be truly said that All the

NEWS photo Stuart Oavis Ht BRAU ELEUL costume sketched by Philip: Clarkson Cabovel slowty piece of wearable clothing with the

help of cudter Christine Mooney GefO) and other cutters and seamstresses at the Vancouver Plays house wardrobe department

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And the people who work behind the scenes of both Stages are the unsung heroes who cut and stitch, fit and alter. Such a= group is ensconced deep within the red and blue castle that houses the Vancouver Playhouse staff on West 7th Avenue in Vancouver

The News wisited the magic domain of the war- drobe department while production was in full swing on Amadeus, now playing at the Playhouse main. stage until May 19

A group of tape-measure draped women explained through mouths full of pins

the various details that will transform a series of beautiful sketches into wearable costumes built to withstand the strains of theatre wear. Although every care is taken to make a costume authentic, if must also. be comfortable and

above all durable, so no ac tor is ever in the position of exiting stage left. leaving his

costume centre stage.

Philip Clarkson is. the costume designer for this production. He is in the

lucky position of being suf- ficiently respected and ‘apolitical’ that more than one major®theatre uses his talents.

His sketches decorate one wall of the Playhouse war- drobe department. Richly colored and beautiful, they represent all the major costumes for the production.

Clarkson estimates there are 40 to 50 of these, al! traditional designs from the

late ‘8th and early 19th centuries. Clarkson, who has a

bachelor of fine arts from UBC chose theatre over the fashion stage because ‘‘this is sO much more exciting than fashion.’’ The period in question is a= particular

favorite because of its lavishness.

Clarkson will read a play two or three times to. get

costumes right for all the

See page C3