I have an obsession with costumes. It started when I was six and liked dressing up as Marie Antoinette. It helped me learn about her by stepping into her skin. Now, I like to sew and still drawn to the possibility of transformation that costumes offer. I was driving through Berkeley with my mom one afternoon when I saw a sign for a costume sale. We pulled over and I began foraging through racks of Renaissance dresses, tailcoat jackets, and lacy victorian dresses. I struck up a conversation with the woman selling them--some of them her own creation, some remnants of her life in theatre production--and later asked if I could interview her about her experiences making costumes. I was fascinated by the creativity and care she described as having put into each production. The work that goes into costumes is a fundamental component in theater and film that is often overseen.
Naseem Alavi: How’d you get into the costume industry?
Anida Weyl:The first time I sewed anything was when I was ten because I wanted to have a wedding for my stuffed dinosaurs. There was a T-rex named Ted and the other was Sadie. I couldn’t find any dinosaur clothes, so I saved up my money and went to the fabric store. I made Sadie a purple wedding dress with white lace. She had a cap and veil. Ted had a black tailcoat and felt hat.
I was in high school in LA the ‘60s. They wouldn’t let girls wear pants, so in protest I decided to wear the same dress everyday. I bought the ugliest fabric I could find and sewed a dress. It was olive green and brick red. I made an A-line dress with short sleeves. I washed it everyday. I’d wear it with sandals or world war one lace up boots. That was when I put my feet in the water about how you could change who you were by how you dressed.
I really got into costumes when I was a sophomore. I used to babysit for a photographer. She was going to the renaissance fair and asked if I’d like to go with her. I couldn’t find any clothes so I made a costume.
After high school, I took my sewing machine to college, but I didn’t really start sewing again until twenty years later, when I had kids. My daughter loved to dress in black and white because of the 101 Dalmations musical. She had a dalmation themed birthday party one year. I made her halloween costumes; one year she wanted to be Cinderella but instead of white and blue, she wanted her dress to be out of gold and purple. Another year, she was a fairy godmother in a purple lace dress.
In second grade, she had to dress up as her favorite historical character. I made her a Laura Ingalls Wilder costume. Everyone was very impressed. The teacher asked me if I’d make costumes for the school play. It was very successful. That led to the teacher who ran the after school drama program for 3rd through 5th graders to ask me if I’d make the costumes for them as well. That teacher gave the students a lot of leeway with the scripts and the presentation of their characters. They were doing Peter Pan. I had to research Indian costumes because the actors didn’t want them to look cartoon-like. I used patterns some patterns and I adapted some. I made an alligator mask out of egg cartons and tennis balls for eyes.
I noticed that when the kids put on their costumes, their parts became very real for them. They became the characters. It was a huge, magical transition. That was the kind of impact I wanted to have on the world, to be part of a moment of transformation. All the jobs I’ve done have been about that--I made wallpaper for houses, I sold houses. Both created moments of transformation. When I saw that, I knew that I could make a fun difference.
Anida Weyl:The first time I sewed anything was when I was ten because I wanted to have a wedding for my stuffed dinosaurs. There was a T-rex named Ted and the other was Sadie. I couldn’t find any dinosaur clothes, so I saved up my money and went to the fabric store. I made Sadie a purple wedding dress with white lace. She had a cap and veil. Ted had a black tailcoat and felt hat.
I was in high school in LA the ‘60s. They wouldn’t let girls wear pants, so in protest I decided to wear the same dress everyday. I bought the ugliest fabric I could find and sewed a dress. It was olive green and brick red. I made an A-line dress with short sleeves. I washed it everyday. I’d wear it with sandals or world war one lace up boots. That was when I put my feet in the water about how you could change who you were by how you dressed.
I really got into costumes when I was a sophomore. I used to babysit for a photographer. She was going to the renaissance fair and asked if I’d like to go with her. I couldn’t find any clothes so I made a costume.
After high school, I took my sewing machine to college, but I didn’t really start sewing again until twenty years later, when I had kids. My daughter loved to dress in black and white because of the 101 Dalmations musical. She had a dalmation themed birthday party one year. I made her halloween costumes; one year she wanted to be Cinderella but instead of white and blue, she wanted her dress to be out of gold and purple. Another year, she was a fairy godmother in a purple lace dress.
In second grade, she had to dress up as her favorite historical character. I made her a Laura Ingalls Wilder costume. Everyone was very impressed. The teacher asked me if I’d make costumes for the school play. It was very successful. That led to the teacher who ran the after school drama program for 3rd through 5th graders to ask me if I’d make the costumes for them as well. That teacher gave the students a lot of leeway with the scripts and the presentation of their characters. They were doing Peter Pan. I had to research Indian costumes because the actors didn’t want them to look cartoon-like. I used patterns some patterns and I adapted some. I made an alligator mask out of egg cartons and tennis balls for eyes.
I noticed that when the kids put on their costumes, their parts became very real for them. They became the characters. It was a huge, magical transition. That was the kind of impact I wanted to have on the world, to be part of a moment of transformation. All the jobs I’ve done have been about that--I made wallpaper for houses, I sold houses. Both created moments of transformation. When I saw that, I knew that I could make a fun difference.
NA: What was your style in high school?
AW: I didn’t really have a style. We were really poor. I worked after school to buy my own clothes. I just wanted things that were cheap, comfy, and fit. I wasn’t very stylish. I’m still not.
NA: What did you do before you got into costumes?
AW: I did a lot of very unrelated things. I worked restaurants, admissions for a private college, managing money for a transportation company, I wrote papers for the FCC, cleaned houses, and baby sat. I studied anthropology in college. I’d wanted to be a librarian, but I graduated the year that California began closing its libraries.
NA: How did you come to the Bay Area?
AW: You probably don’t want to put this in your article, but in my senior year of high school my boyfriend invited me to visit his best friend in Northern California for Thanksgiving break. I ended up liking my boyfriend’s best friend better so I started dating him and moved up here after graduating.
NA: How has the Bay Area influenced you?
AW: It helped when searching for store bought costumes because there’s a huge variety and so many outlets and thrift stores. There’s a rich and creative environment here with lots of theaters. However, there are some drawbacks. In Minneapolis all the theater companies belong to one group. They share and catalogue costumes. That would be almost impossible here.
NA: What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on?
AW: Elton John’s Aida. It was a school production for Mt. Eden in Hayward with 93 actors. I made all the costumes myself because with that many people you couldn’t rent costumes. Companies only had costumes for twenty or thirty people, and they needed all the costumes to look the same. Fortunately, there was a good budget, but I only had two and a half months. The girls each had four costumes, and the boys each had three. The main characters had twelve each. The costumes themselves weren’t hard. It wasn’t making clocks walk like in the Phantom Tolbooth, or a dodecahedron with three girls inside, it was just the volume of work and lack of time. The show was three hours long for only one weekend.
I had a lot of fun with the Greater Tuna. It was a play with two actors playing 22 parts. Each of them had a dresser right behind the curtain.The costumes had to be designed so that they could rip one off and slide into the next one. It couldn’t be velcro because people would be able to hear that. Everything had to be snaps.
I also made costumes for a production of Beauty and the Beast performed by adults for kids in primary school who’d never seen or likely never would see a play. Les Mis and the Lion King were also very fun.
AW: Elton John’s Aida. It was a school production for Mt. Eden in Hayward with 93 actors. I made all the costumes myself because with that many people you couldn’t rent costumes. Companies only had costumes for twenty or thirty people, and they needed all the costumes to look the same. Fortunately, there was a good budget, but I only had two and a half months. The girls each had four costumes, and the boys each had three. The main characters had twelve each. The costumes themselves weren’t hard. It wasn’t making clocks walk like in the Phantom Tolbooth, or a dodecahedron with three girls inside, it was just the volume of work and lack of time. The show was three hours long for only one weekend.
I had a lot of fun with the Greater Tuna. It was a play with two actors playing 22 parts. Each of them had a dresser right behind the curtain.The costumes had to be designed so that they could rip one off and slide into the next one. It couldn’t be velcro because people would be able to hear that. Everything had to be snaps.
I also made costumes for a production of Beauty and the Beast performed by adults for kids in primary school who’d never seen or likely never would see a play. Les Mis and the Lion King were also very fun.
NA: What’s the process for putting together the costumes for a play?
AW: You have to understand the character. Read the play at least twenty times. Think about what their role is in the story, what they’re trying to convey to the audience, and what emotions they use to convey that. Research the character’s background. A cutesy girl from the South won’t dress the same as a cutesy girl from Maine, or California. Think about how old they are. How educated are they? Watch the rehearsals. Take the actor’s measurements during the first reading of the script. Sit and listen to the script. Ask the actors how they’re going to play the part. What do they have in mind for how their character looks? Look for clues.
I didn’t draw very well, but I would bring in sample fabrics. You have to make sure your idea matches up with the director. Sometimes they have it in their head but they can’t explain it. They can only say what’s right and wrong, but they can’t say what is right. Spend time with the director.
Sometimes an actor drops out and a new one comes in two weeks before the show. Sometimes actors gain or lose weight from the time you measure them to the time of the performance. In one show all of the actors were in designer suits, but they only went up to size 38 and one guy was a size 58. I had to buy two suits, take them apart, and sew them together.
NA: What do you need to succeed in the costume industry?
AW: You need to be a good detective, be able to understand emotions, and have enough resources to find what you don’t have. You have to see how someone’s characteristics translate into their clothing expression. Take into the character’s economic and social interactions. You have to have a good sense of color. You have to be able to work with people and willing to put yourself out there. If you love doing it, know that you can do anything.
In college, take classes figure drawing, color theory, and theater arts. I got around by word of mouth and applied for everything. Make friends with big directors and actors in college and don’t be afraid to follow up with them.
AW: You have to understand the character. Read the play at least twenty times. Think about what their role is in the story, what they’re trying to convey to the audience, and what emotions they use to convey that. Research the character’s background. A cutesy girl from the South won’t dress the same as a cutesy girl from Maine, or California. Think about how old they are. How educated are they? Watch the rehearsals. Take the actor’s measurements during the first reading of the script. Sit and listen to the script. Ask the actors how they’re going to play the part. What do they have in mind for how their character looks? Look for clues.
I didn’t draw very well, but I would bring in sample fabrics. You have to make sure your idea matches up with the director. Sometimes they have it in their head but they can’t explain it. They can only say what’s right and wrong, but they can’t say what is right. Spend time with the director.
Sometimes an actor drops out and a new one comes in two weeks before the show. Sometimes actors gain or lose weight from the time you measure them to the time of the performance. In one show all of the actors were in designer suits, but they only went up to size 38 and one guy was a size 58. I had to buy two suits, take them apart, and sew them together.
NA: What do you need to succeed in the costume industry?
AW: You need to be a good detective, be able to understand emotions, and have enough resources to find what you don’t have. You have to see how someone’s characteristics translate into their clothing expression. Take into the character’s economic and social interactions. You have to have a good sense of color. You have to be able to work with people and willing to put yourself out there. If you love doing it, know that you can do anything.
In college, take classes figure drawing, color theory, and theater arts. I got around by word of mouth and applied for everything. Make friends with big directors and actors in college and don’t be afraid to follow up with them.
NA: Does your knowledge of costumes affect the way you see people?
AW: I can appreciate a well put together look. I wish that we dressed in a more responsible way, but there is a tendency to judge how people look rather than how they are.
NA: What do you do in your free time now?
AW: When my eyesight got bad and I got arthritis and the theaters started closing, I decided it was time to quit. Now I garden and quilt with leftovers and appreciation of the old stuff.
AW: I can appreciate a well put together look. I wish that we dressed in a more responsible way, but there is a tendency to judge how people look rather than how they are.
NA: What do you do in your free time now?
AW: When my eyesight got bad and I got arthritis and the theaters started closing, I decided it was time to quit. Now I garden and quilt with leftovers and appreciation of the old stuff.