Have you ever wondered where a particular costume piece comes from when watching a show? Maybe it’s that hat you saw in “My Fair Lady” or that shoe from “Cinderella”. You might be surprised at just how much work goes into some of the most iconic pieces.
This is true for the costumes seen in “Blues for an Alabama Sky”. Once the costume designs have been drawn, the actual process of creating the costumes begins.
With “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” there were many pieces that either needed alterations or had to be made entirely by hand, such as some of the hats worn throughout the show.
Pollock believes that the audience will enjoy seeing the different hats in the show for several reasons. “We don’t really wear hats on a daily basis anymore in contemporary society and they used to be something you wouldn’t leave the house without. I think audience members are always drawn to hats because they are glamorous and they give you a clue as to who that person is. You form an opinion about that person.”
This same social convention is present in “Blues for an Alabama Sky”. It was unheard of for men to not wear a hat when going about their daily business, and many women wore hats as well. The execution of one such hat for the show, worn by Angel (Tia James), went through several alterations before being ready for the stage.
A lining was required for the inside of the hat because Angel takes it off onstage and the inside can be seen by the audience. For those who love easter eggs, the fabric was pulled from a corset that was
“The work that we do as crafters needs to be invisible,” Pollock shared. “If I’ve done my job well, the audience isn’t going to know anybody did it.” The goal when creating these pieces is that they fit so seamlessly onto the stage that the audience is pulled into the story as if they weren’t watching a play but actually seeing it unfold in the time period it’s set in.
“There is nothing fantastical about the costumes in this show,” Pollock states. “These characters aren’t wizards and no one travels through time.” But the care that goes into creating the costumes is the same as it would be for any other production.
Blues for an Alabama Sky on stage September 7 – 25, 2022. Get your tickets today!