NCSU University Theatre’s production of ‘Little Women’ – Fall 2011
- Costume Design: Jen Dasher
- Draper/Costume Technician: Laura Parker
- Scenic Design: Jayme Mellema
- Lighting Design: Joshua Reaves
- Technical Direction: David Jensen
University Theatre’s holiday show this year was ‘Little Women’. Although we typically like to build some costume pieces and pull others from stock, that was not possible for this particular production – we simply do not own any 1860′s women’s costumes that would be appropriate for the show. The men’s costumes were rented, but we decided to build all five women’s gowns in the shop.
The costume designer wanted each character to have an iconic look – so I had the opportunity to draft five very different Civil War styled gowns for these characters. When drafting the patterns, I made sure to include lots of different techniques for our student shop assistants to learn – cartridge pleating, knife pleating, flatlining, self-piping, etc. Due to the complexity of Marmee’s fan-front bodice and Jo’s little military-style jacket, I ended up putting these two bodices together. The rest of the garments were built by student shop assistants, under careful supervision.
Photos by Ron Foreman