Patrick Holt’s Brilliant Renderings and Costume Concepts Come to Life

Peter Stockmann, the Mayor, needed to exude a certain importance, explains Rachel Pollock, costume craftsperson. She said the design team received an email from director Tom Quaintance stating, “The Mayor’s hat needs to clearly be the Mayor’s hat.” She and Patrick jumped into action, finding exactly the right details to complete Peter’s ensemble. They searched for a way to ensure Peter would stand out, but it had to be subtle. “We needed some way to set it apart him an official capacity that wouldn’t be cartoonish or absurd,” said Rachel. Patrick and Rachel chose from a collection of unique feather ornaments to make Peter’s costume flourish. This subtle detail proves effective, along with the touch of red, to evoke a sense of authority, wealth, and importance in Peter Stockmann’s character.

“It’s a visual representation of the taint in the water.”

With water being a common theme throughout the play, it’s no wonder Patrick was inspired to create visual representations of the contaminated spring in his designs for the Stockmann women.

Patrick’s rendering for Catherine Stockmann as worn by Julia Gibson. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

Patrick’s rendering for Petra Stockmann as worn by Allison Altman. Photo by Curtis Brown.

For the angry mob scene in which Dr. Stockmann is pelted with water, precautions had to be taken. Rachel says they spent time Scotch Guarding the costumes they expected to be exposed to the most moisture. However, this was not Rachel’s first time working around water in a production. After the 4,500 gallon pool used in PlayMakers’ 2014 production of Metamorphoses, she had more than enough skill and experience to collaborate on the challenge of costumes getting soaked throughout the show.

The mob throwing water at the face of Dr. Stockmann. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

We are pleased to have Patrick Holt’s costume designs featured in another production at PlayMakers. He served as costume craftsperson for PlayMakers early on in his career. Rachel said Patrick’s past experience with PlayMakers simplified the process for the collaborative costume team. “He ran this dye shop. So he is very familiar with this facility and what it can do.”