With a large cast, multiple shifts in time and setting, and fanciful spirits to depict, what is it like to dress the actors who inhabit Geva Theatre Center’s A Christmas Carol? Or any of the other numerous productions Geva presents each year? Casey McNamara, the regional theatre’s costume shop manager (and occasional designer) will be the guest at the next Stage Whispers talk, presented by The College at Brockport’s Department of Theatre and Music Studies. The talk, “Handle with Care: Costumes and Characters,” will take place on Thursday, December 5,at 10 a.m. in the Tower Fine Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre, 180 Holley Street. As with all Stage Whispers panels, the talk is free and open to the public.
McNamara is beginning his third season at Geva. As manager of the costume shop, he is the liaison between the costume designer and the shop. Together they will look at designs and decide what the shop will make and what will be purchased. McNamara designed costumes for last season’s productions of Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End and Million Dollar Quartet. In addition to Geva, he has been the associate costume designer for Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, among others. He “really enjoyed working on The Agitators last season. It’s rare when the costume shop can work on period pieces and this show was specific and challenging.” He enjoys working with interesting fabrics and cites Merry-Go-Round’s production of Legally Blonde as another favorite. “It was colorful with lots of detail work, which made it so fun to work on.”
During the run of A Christmas Carol, McNamara and his costume shop associates do a lot of laundry. Statistics for each week of the run can include 60 loads of laundry (and folding it), lacing seven corsets 10 times a week, carrying 14 baskets of costumes to and from more than 35 quick changes backstage 10 times a week. Did he mention the ironing?
The “Stage Whispers” series is sponsored by The College at Brockport’s Department of Theatre and Music Studies as part of their alliance with Geva Theatre Center. The series gives community members insight into the process of professional theatre artists. For more information, call 395-2787.
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