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All About Tech: Costumes feat. Millie Hiibel · philly has heART

0:15
Hey, Lou, what's up? We made it through Monday.
0:20
Yeah, we did. How'd you start off this weekend?
0:23
We both know I was supposed to go to Run Ben
0:25
Run, but I got into a fight with my housekeeper
0:31
and it left me with a headache. And amongst other
0:35
things that happened on Friday, I was not feeling
0:39
up for it by the time, even by the time 3 p .m.
0:42
rolled around, I knew I was not going to make
0:44
it out that night. I also realized how annoying
0:47
that phrase was. Okay. Yeah. A little self -awareness
0:53
goes a long way. And I'll try not to repeat that
0:57
ever again, guys. Thank you for sticking with
0:59
me here. Anytime. Anytime. What'd you do Friday
1:03
night? Friday night? Oh, I had dinner with my
1:06
neighbors, which was really nice. Oh, it was
1:09
good? Yeah, we had a beautiful time. Had some
1:12
Indian food. Yum! Yeah. And then on Saturday
1:17
night, I went to go see Rocky Horror Picture
1:20
Show and live acting in Phoenixville. And it
1:26
was so fun. So fun. Was this your first time
1:30
ever participating in a Rocky Horror Picture
1:32
Show live? This was the first time that it was
1:35
like live people with the movie. I've seen the
1:38
movie and I've also gone to like a Rocky Horror
1:41
Night. but not like with the people and the actors.
1:46
Interesting. That was great. Everybody got a
1:49
prop bag. It was a good time. How about you?
1:53
I went to Stars and Stripes Forever Saturday
1:56
night, the family and I. Full candor? Full candor.
2:00
I mean, you might as well. I got to see the show
2:04
at Wolf Trap. So I know what it's like. And I
2:09
think you got to see it in a different context
2:11
because given recent events, I think you're looking
2:14
at it through a slightly different lens. I will
2:19
say the first piece, Fancy Free, the narrative
2:25
didn't age well. And okay, I've got my notes
2:28
here. It's like when you watch those Disney movies
2:32
over again and you're like, huh, the story's
2:37
a little different now. Yeah. Fancy Free premiered
2:42
April 18th, 1944. I will say that the dancing
2:48
across the board, phenom. Incredible, right?
2:54
Yeah. Incredible. You know, a lot of them are,
2:58
there's a lot of like pas de deux, but there's
3:00
also like so much core action that everybody's
3:07
got to be on the same beats. Are we talking specifically
3:10
about Stars and Stripes then? Yes. Beautiful.
3:14
Beautiful. They take over the whole stage. Gorgeous.
3:17
Also, we got Peter Weil. Back in action. Back
3:23
in action. He was the second regiment. He was
3:27
the thunder and the gladiator. The main general.
3:30
Oh, nice. Nice. You're on a great night. Yeah.
3:34
We had Mene Kusanu and... nicholas patterson
3:39
for variations on america oh my gosh lovely lovely
3:43
and a second spotting in a weekend yeah i saw
3:48
nicholas patterson at cvs the next morning and
3:52
like a fucking psycho i go up to him i'm like
3:55
nicholas patterson he's never met me by the way
3:58
oh my goodness and i was like fab job last night
4:03
loved it And he was just so perfectly gracious.
4:07
I can't let you go without telling the audience
4:10
that you're wearing your Keith Haring shirt.
4:14
And no pants. And that the Historical Society
4:19
saved his mural this week. So I heard. I'm not
4:24
done about the ballet, though, Rob. Oh, please
4:26
keep going. Can I mention something else? We
4:28
brought the boys. And as always, we had an aisle
4:32
seat third row back from. the orchestra, and
4:36
we tend to sit there. These tend to be the seats
4:40
that I book for the family because it's easy
4:42
to get to the men's restroom from where we're
4:44
at. Cut to the intermission between Fancy Free
4:49
and Variations on America, and both of the boys
4:53
are snoozing. My husband goes, do you want another
4:58
drink? I'm like, kinda. So he dumps both of the
5:03
boys in my lap. He takes our ensemble arts travel
5:06
cups. And on his way out, I see he's stopped
5:10
by this couple in a box. And I'm like, huh, I
5:15
don't know them. And I'm trying to make frantic
5:17
eye contact at him as if to say, go get my fucking
5:22
drink. Right. Babe. He comes back and he says,
5:26
that couple over there stopped me. And wanted
5:29
to talk because they have seen us bring the boys
5:32
to the ballet for years now. And they always
5:36
notice us. Aww. And I'm like, did they complain
5:42
about their behavior? Never. Never. They're always
5:49
asleep by the time the first intermission rolls
5:52
around. What else did we do last weekend? Oh
5:55
my gosh. We had a beautiful panel discussion
5:59
at Muse Gallery. Shout out to Carolyn for pulling
6:03
that all together with the partners over at Muse.
6:07
Art is everywhere. We had a discussion around
6:10
alternative art spaces in Philadelphia. Much
6:14
like Muse itself, it is a co -op. And there were...
6:19
different representations from different types
6:22
of institutions throughout the city of Philadelphia
6:26
that interact with artists in very different
6:29
ways. It was really great to have the different
6:32
perspectives of a museum and a co -op and like
6:38
In Liquid is like a huge artist collective that's
6:44
a non -profit. As then you also had like a maker
6:48
space and gallery and education center all in
6:53
one with 1040 Creative. So, you know, we really
6:57
had a great discussion around how each one of
7:01
those are different and uniquely provide opportunities
7:04
to artists to get their art out into the market.
7:09
And I have to say, you did a fantastic job moderating
7:13
the panel. As always, Robert is up for hire for
7:19
panel moderation everywhere. Anytime. No, it's
7:23
super fun. It's super fun. We're so glad to do
7:27
it. How many Barry's classes have you taken this
7:29
week? I took two. Okay. All right. You're really
7:33
racking it up. You hitting a milestone soon?
7:36
I'm hitting 250 this Saturday. 250 in the 250th
7:43
anniversary of our country. Big year for 250s
7:47
everywhere. Taking the 7 a .m. class this Saturday
7:53
with Jake. Robert's going. Friends of the pod
7:58
are going. Yeah. And you're invited, too, if
8:02
you're listening to this. There is a link in
8:04
the show notes for a free class if you are new
8:06
to the Red Room. Oh, I love it. I love it. And
8:09
if it doesn't work, send me a DM. What's your
8:12
spin class count? This week, it was two. Okay.
8:16
All right. You're double dipping. With that,
8:18
on to the conversation. All right. Greetings.
8:35
This is Robert Marsh, and you're listening to
8:37
Philly Has Hard Podcast. In this podcast, we
8:40
sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
8:42
curators, and other creatives who comprise the
8:45
Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
8:49
exhibits, events, and other initiatives that
8:51
are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
8:54
is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
8:57
this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
9:01
me always is my producer, Lucinda Dagerland.
9:04
Salam at Sis Bay! And today we have... Opera
9:07
Philadelphia's Millie Heibel. Welcome. Hi. So
9:13
glad to have you. Can you share with our audience
9:17
your journey to where you are now? So how far
9:21
do you want me to go back? All the way. Go all
9:22
the way. All the way. Barbie clothes. Barbie
9:26
clothes. Exactly. Okay, great. With tissue paper.
9:28
Yeah, okay. Well, so I'm a costume designer.
9:33
I do a lot of costume things. I also consider
9:37
myself a costumer. And I have been in Philadelphia
9:42
for, I guess, 27 years, which makes me feel really
9:45
old. But I came here to go to Temple, so to graduate
9:48
school at Temple. And I stayed. I had no idea
9:52
that I was going to live in Philadelphia. And
9:54
actually, now I live in New Jersey. So it's just
9:56
like one day you find yourself living in New
9:58
Jersey. Yes, it does. How did this happen? But
10:06
I am, so since you said to go all the way back,
10:09
I will. So I'm originally from Northern Nevada.
10:11
And I say Northern Nevada because if I said Nevada,
10:15
where would you think I'm from? Las Vegas. Las
10:17
Vegas. Reno. Actually, I lived in Reno for a
10:21
number of years. But most people assume Las Vegas.
10:24
And I actually grew up about 9 to 10 hours from
10:28
Las Vegas. Wow. Driving, 9 to 10 hours driving.
10:31
On the very opposite side of the state, like
10:34
up towards. like you know I'm just giving like
10:37
putting a little geography in everybody's head
10:39
Idaho Oregon that area and I grew up in a very
10:42
rural area I actually grew up on a cattle ranch
10:44
and I'm going back this far and telling you because
10:48
when I grew up I did not have television so I
10:52
had to do other things than just watch television
10:55
yeah one of the things that was important in
10:57
my family was drawing and painting and doing
11:00
art and my family weren't like artist as we would
11:04
like to find like fine art but creativity was
11:07
valued and my paternal grandfather was an amateur
11:12
oil painter which is something he took up at
11:14
some point in his life but in his retirement
11:16
he would just paint these oil portraits and I
11:19
think he was entirely self -taught so I would
11:22
read a lot I would just like draw and like just
11:26
do things that were creative I remember one time
11:29
and I actually got in trouble for this we had
11:31
all these picture books And I took a bunch of
11:34
picture books and I cut them out. I cut out all
11:44
these like building and it was just random, just
11:46
different picture books. And I created this entire
11:48
village and I was like reprimanded for it. But
11:52
I think back on it and I'm like. I was, like,
11:54
doing theater. I was creating, like, these scenes.
11:56
A hundred percent. Yes. Yes. But I didn't know.
12:00
You should have done it with the National Geographic,
12:02
though, not the Binded Books, potentially. When
12:05
you are saying picture books, I'm thinking of,
12:07
like, you know how a lot of people make a big
12:10
to -do about their coffee table book, the Tom
12:12
Ford coffee table book. What is that line of
12:15
Asulin? Oh, yes. I didn't have any of those.
12:19
They were, like, you know, because I had a lot
12:21
of siblings. It was just, like, our, like, our.
12:23
books, you know? And I just remember being told
12:26
that I had ruined all the books, which I did,
12:28
but I had made this other thing. But this is
12:31
what you do when you don't have television. Of
12:33
course, this was long before the internet. Fast
12:36
forward. So I'm in high school. I don't really
12:40
know what I want to do with, you know, my life.
12:42
And I was like, okay, I'm going to go to college.
12:45
The things that I enjoyed, like academically
12:47
were like history and English. And of course,
12:52
reading and writing. So I went to college. I
12:55
studied literature. And then I did journalism
12:58
for a while. And I was like, no, I don't really
12:59
want to do that. And so I was like, okay, I'm
13:01
just going to get an English literature degree.
13:05
And I was focusing on Victorian literature. And
13:09
I was working in the writing center. And I was
13:11
in Seattle at this point. I went to the University
13:13
of Washington in Seattle. In the 90s? In the
13:15
90s. What was that like? Well, it was like everything
13:19
you imagine. I worked at a restaurant and I waited
13:27
on Eddie Vedder. But I worked at a coffee shop
13:41
and I lived in Seattle in the 90s and it was
13:43
basically like there was nothing else to do.
13:46
You would reach the height of what you wanted
13:48
to accomplish. I mean, yes. So I had made friends
13:57
with this girl at Work to the Writing Center,
13:59
and she was dating an actor. And she always had
14:03
these crazy stories. And I was like, her life
14:06
is, like, so much more exciting than mine. And
14:09
she would invite me to go to these, like, university
14:13
productions, like student productions on campus.
14:16
And I didn't realize at the time that the University
14:19
of Washington has, like, an MFA, like, you know,
14:22
like a training program. So I'd go to these productions
14:25
and I've never been an onstage person. Like never
14:28
once have I ever thought like I want to be an
14:31
actor, either like on screen or on stage. Like
14:34
that was never something I ever wanted to do.
14:36
But I was like sitting there and I was like looking
14:38
at the program. I was like, there's someone who
14:40
does the costumes. Because I was like, oh, the
14:42
costumes are like so great. Like somebody does
14:45
the costumes. I'm like, this is very interesting.
14:47
So I found out that there was a costume design
14:50
class on campus. And so I had to ask permission
14:55
to take the class because I was an English major
14:59
and it was a theater class. It was like on a
15:01
theater track. And I got permission. And I was
15:04
like, this is amazing. So one thing I left out
15:07
telling my origin story is the other thing I
15:10
learned how to do when I was young is I learned
15:12
how to sew. And I'd always been interested in
15:15
fashion, but because I grew up in such a rural
15:18
area, I didn't have access. There was no art
15:21
school I could go to. There were no summer programs.
15:25
I think my mom taught me some things, but a lot
15:27
of the self -taught was just by hand sewing.
15:30
And by the time I got into middle school and
15:33
high school, I was like, already advanced so
15:38
my teachers would just be like you're just going
15:41
to be the class assistant because I already knew
15:43
how to do all the things here I am in this costume
15:47
design class and it was like all the things that
15:51
I enjoy doing it's like fashion and sewing and
15:54
drawing and history and reading and I was like
15:57
wow this is all the things that I enjoy doing
16:01
and I'm passionate about but it's it's like contained
16:04
in one thing and I was like, well, what do I
16:07
do? Like this English degree that I'm like, you
16:10
know, trying to get. I was like about a year
16:12
away from graduating, thinking I don't want to
16:14
stay and get a second degree. But I was going
16:19
to London the next semester and I was doing a
16:22
study abroad in London, which was fantastic because
16:26
it was like exposed to theater and art. We saw
16:30
like three plays a week. Felt like I got, like,
16:33
a quick theater degree in that semester. Exactly.
16:39
So I came back, finished my English degree, and
16:43
was like, okay, well, I'm going to abandon that,
16:45
and now I'm going to do, I'm going to study costume
16:47
design. So I took a year off. This particular
16:51
comment is for my boyfriend because he loves.
16:54
the fact that I like tell people this, but in
16:57
that year off, I was like a substitute teacher
17:00
by day and a cocktail waitress at night. And
17:04
then I ended up at Temple. And now I'm here.
17:17
What made you pick Temple? To be honest, it was
17:20
like they had the best financial package. It
17:22
was location and the financial package because
17:24
there were schools that I was accepted into,
17:27
but they were just like not in an area where
17:31
I thought it was going to be the best for my
17:32
career. Yeah. You know, I'm close to New York.
17:35
Philadelphia is a large city. There was a few
17:38
schools that were like, well, you don't have
17:40
a lot of like. art history so we we think you
17:44
should take this class or that class and i was
17:46
kind of done going to school at this point i
17:49
just wanted to like move forward and get you
17:51
know onto the next phase what was philadelphia
17:53
like back then well i mean Like Seattle? Like,
17:59
definitely not like Seattle. No, that was actually
18:02
a culture shock, because honestly, like, I was
18:04
in Seattle, and then I had gone to London, and
18:07
then I came to Philadelphia. So I had lived in,
18:10
like, large cities, and I had lived in London,
18:13
and London's a lot bigger than Philadelphia.
18:15
So when I was in Seattle, I would ride my bike
18:18
to campus. I lived next to the Burke Gilman Trail,
18:21
so I'd just get on my bike and go to campus.
18:24
I tried to ride my bike. I was living in Mount
18:26
Airy. I tried to ride my bike to campus, like
18:28
through North Philadelphia. I actually got a
18:30
flat because there was no way you could avoid
18:32
like broken glass or whatever. It was just like
18:34
the campus is unrecognizable right now. Like
18:37
I went up there a few years ago. Actually, I
18:39
was up there last year. No, that's not true.
18:40
I was up there last year. The first time I went
18:43
back after all of the new construction and the
18:47
new library, I was like, where am I? It was like
18:49
nothing like what it looks like now. What was
18:52
the... post -temple life into a career? Yes.
18:58
Well, I actually, funnily enough, my post -temple
19:02
life, I was still at Temple because my professor,
19:06
I think he went on sabbatical and then he was
19:09
there for, I think, a few more years and then
19:11
he retired. So I was hired back to design shows.
19:17
I taught a class. I actually Started teaching
19:21
right out of graduate school. I interviewed for
19:24
a teaching job at Arcadia University while I
19:27
was still a graduate student and got the job.
19:29
It wasn't full -time, it was a part -time. And
19:31
so I started teaching, which was great because
19:34
in theater, even now, it's really hard to kind
19:38
of piece together a living just on the art. You
19:44
kind of have to have something else to supplement
19:46
that. and that's just a reality. That's just
19:51
kind of the way it is. So I was fortunate that
19:53
I had this teaching position where I had some
19:56
steady income, and then I was able to do freelance.
19:59
The good thing was is I had met people at Temple,
20:03
and it sort of got connected into Philly, and
20:06
I kind of toyed with going to New York, and actually
20:09
I did go to New York. I did a show. I did an
20:13
off -Broadway show. thought about moving there,
20:16
and then just realized my quality of life was
20:20
going to be so different, and I was going to
20:22
be taking the bus or taking the train back to
20:24
Philadelphia all the time to work. And I was
20:28
just like this. I just felt like it wasn't sustainable.
20:30
And I didn't have the connections in New York
20:32
in the same way that I had in Philadelphia. Which
20:35
is a huge part of that process, right? Creating
20:37
that community, getting around. A lot of the
20:40
set designers and designers... Sound designer.
20:43
Sound designers. Prop designer. Yeah, all the
20:45
designers really talked about how important it
20:48
was to have that community of people that pull
20:52
you into these different productions where it
20:55
could take one relationship to then be able to
20:57
drive you towards your next gig. Yeah, that's
21:02
how it always is. Like one thing leads to the
21:04
next. Yeah, I mean, that's just, I mean, I think
21:06
that is the way, you know, it is outside of the
21:09
arts, but I think particularly in the arts and
21:11
particularly in this community, for sure. So
21:15
for a costume designer, you know, what does your
21:18
everyday routine look like? like we talked with
21:22
a lot of the designers today about you're juggling
21:24
a lot because you're you might have four different
21:27
productions going on in your mind at the same
21:29
time that you're working on in different iterations
21:32
of of that and so what is that like for the costume
21:36
side yes and I mean I have to say I think most
21:39
costume designers will agree with me but I feel
21:42
like as a costume designer you often have more
21:45
to do because you're not just dealing with the
21:49
design. So if you're juggling, which I am right
21:52
now, if you're juggling projects, you are at
21:54
different phases. There's one phase of it, which
21:57
is the designing. So that's the creative part,
22:00
and that's the research. If you're doing renderings,
22:03
if you're doing sketches, you're doing sketches,
22:05
and you're painting the sketches, you're finding
22:07
research, you're looking for things. I'm doing
22:09
a production set in the 1920s at Rutgers University,
22:13
which is called No, No, Nanette. And so it's
22:17
really... Very much in the 1920s, it takes place
22:20
in New York and then Atlantic City. So that research
22:24
is very specific, like sketching out those costumes.
22:27
The next phase of that is getting information,
22:30
like getting measurements for the actors. It's
22:32
been cast. Now I need to be sending emails. I
22:34
need to be reaching out. I need to go get measurements.
22:38
Connecting with the different people who are
22:39
going to be assisting me, who are helping, like
22:41
we use the term build for making costumes, like
22:44
building costumes. Then working with the stage
22:48
manager to schedule the fittings. You're not
22:50
just doing, you're not just in your studio painting
22:53
pictures. You're like sending emails. You're
22:56
on the phone. Then there's the shopping part
22:59
of it. Back when I started, there wasn't as much
23:01
online shopping. So, you know, which has been
23:05
good and bad. It's been good in that, well, I
23:08
don't know. It depends on how you view this.
23:09
I got up this morning and like ordered a bunch
23:13
of things. like before a store would be open.
23:15
Prior to the internet, I wouldn't have been able
23:17
to do that. But it just also means like you're
23:20
kind of working all the time or you could stay
23:22
up late and you can order things. Like if I'm
23:24
ordering things on Poshmark, for example, I could
23:27
be working until like four o 'clock in the morning.
23:29
But the bad thing is, is because now there's
23:32
fewer. Like brick -and -mortar stores. So if
23:34
you really need something quickly, there's so
23:36
many fewer places to go. And that's the disadvantage
23:40
of it. So everything has to be much more in advance.
23:44
Which is good to get planned, but there's always
23:46
emergencies and the need to get things last minute.
23:49
Or just need to be able to look at something
23:50
and not have to buy it online. And touch it.
23:52
Yeah. So there's that phase of it. And then once
23:55
you get into the production part of it, there's
23:58
the fittings. And then... Some things work, some
24:01
things don't. You have to exchange things. Then
24:04
you have to reshop things. You have to return
24:06
things. And if there's notes, the notes have
24:10
to get done. Then you get into what's called
24:13
tech rehearsals. And that's when you're in the
24:16
theater and all the tech elements are put together
24:19
with the acting and rehearsals. And when you're
24:22
overlapping projects, you are... at different
24:26
phases of those. So you're thinking about one
24:30
thing on one show, but you're sitting in tech
24:34
for the other show, and you're like, oh, I just
24:37
saw I got a note. This actor's shoes are not
24:41
working. Let me order a different pair of shoes.
24:45
So it requires a lot of juggling and trying to
24:49
keep things organized and keep things in order.
24:53
I find that spreadsheets are helpful in kind
24:56
of having a document, which we call a costume
24:58
plot, but in like having that kind of a document
25:03
to know the status of what that is, you know,
25:06
so you're like, okay, I'm just going to throw
25:08
out an example. If you have somebody that needs
25:11
a pair of red shoes, you bought the red shoes.
25:15
They're using them in rehearsal. They're not
25:16
working. You have to buy another pair of red
25:18
shoes. So you're just kind of having to be aware
25:21
of what's happening to make sure that when you
25:23
get to the tech rehearsal, those shoes are going
25:25
to work, for example. But think of that on a
25:30
scale of like you have 200 pairs of shoes in
25:33
a show. Oh my gosh! Oh, my gosh. But I've been
25:40
working in opera for a long time, so numbers,
25:43
they used to scare. I mean, it's still overwhelming,
25:45
but they used to scare me more than they do now.
25:48
So that is one good thing that has come with
25:51
the experience is being able to manage things
25:55
on a larger scale. Yeah. Can you also share with
25:59
us, when you're in that, like, more freelance
26:01
mode, what does your wardrobe or costume look
26:07
like? closet access look like versus you're part
26:11
of a ongoing production company that might have
26:15
archived a bunch of things to then be able to
26:17
give you access to more shoes from other productions.
26:21
Right. No, absolutely. And yes, it depends on
26:24
where I'm working. So if I'm working at a place
26:26
that has established theater and you go in and
26:29
you, you know, you're like. okay, I have access
26:34
to a certain thing, so I can just pull those
26:39
things from stock. So, yes, I don't know if I'm
26:43
answering your question exactly, but then you
26:44
might go, like, I'm working, I'm doing a show
26:47
for Theater Exile, and they do a lot more contemporary
26:51
plays. I did do kind of a period piece in the
26:55
spring there, and they didn't have any period
26:58
costumes. So it was like, okay. They don't have
27:01
anything in stock that would work for this show.
27:04
It all needs to be sourced. So it could be things
27:07
that I can borrow from other theaters. It could
27:10
be things that I've purchased. And then some
27:12
of the stuff I source from other places. There's
27:17
no answer to any of those questions, which I
27:19
think goes back to your, what is my day -to -day
27:24
like? it's never the same yeah which is one of
27:28
the appeals i think of theater is that even if
27:31
i'm doing the same production of romeo and juliet
27:34
you know if i'm doing four productions of romeo
27:39
and juliet in a season for four different theaters
27:42
none of those productions are going to be the
27:45
same you know and none of those experiences are
27:49
going to be the same so i think that's also like
27:52
The great thing about it is it never gets boring.
27:55
It's never going to be the same hat. It's never
27:56
going to be the same hat. Maybe the same shoes.
27:58
That's as far as we're going to go. Oh, I love
28:02
that. This has been something that we've been
28:04
asking several of our friends in tech, and it
28:08
actually started a few months ago when we were
28:10
talking to Tom Weaver, who is a lighting designer.
28:13
And he said at any given time he has... six lights
28:18
from six different theaters in the trunk of his
28:20
car and then we talked about it with emily schumann
28:23
who does props and we talked about the junk in
28:27
her trunk we talked about the junk in liz atkinson's
28:31
trunk and she was talking about sound boards
28:33
yeah what is the junk in your trunk okay so you
28:37
saw me walk in with a hulking bag okay do we
28:40
want to explain what a hulking bag is to everybody
28:42
give it to us okay yeah so hulking bag is a it's
28:45
a it's like a I guess I can call it a granny
28:48
bag, but it has four sides with a zipper on top.
28:52
It's very lightweight, and they are like the
28:57
seventh wonder of the world because you can fill
29:00
a lot of stuff in them, and the casters roll
29:04
very easily. So the bag itself doesn't have weight,
29:06
so it's just the weight of whatever you can fit
29:09
in them, and they come in different sizes. And
29:12
different colors. And different colors. And they're
29:15
like, you see them all over Manhattan. They're
29:18
great for stylists, but they're great for, like,
29:20
you know, costume designers. For groceries. Yes.
29:22
It's like, they're great. I always have stuff
29:25
in my car. It's like this evolving thing. I constantly,
29:29
every time I do returns or if I have stuff in
29:32
my car and I, like, have fittings, then I put
29:35
stuff back in the car. So it's like this evolving.
29:37
My car was completely empty during the pandemic.
29:42
First. time in years and I don't think it's been
29:46
empty since and I literally was like I have to
29:50
take a picture of this because this will never
29:52
happen again yes exactly yeah it will never happen
29:55
again I love that so it's like I Yes, I always
29:59
have things in my car. And I don't even, like,
30:02
I don't even know. And on my porch, because I
30:04
have returns. Yeah. I always have a bag of returns.
30:08
That's why you had to move to Jersey. You needed
30:11
the Amazon guy to be able to drop something off.
30:13
And most of them, like, usually have, like, bras
30:14
and shapewear. Yeah. And, like, I'm always, like,
30:19
shopping, but never for myself. It's always,
30:21
like, yeah. Oh, I love that. Just kind of going
30:24
back to, you know, There is that element of the
30:29
process that you have to sketch. Did that come
30:31
easy to you? Was that more of a learned skill?
30:35
Well, it was, I mean, no, I definitely had to
30:37
learn and I had, you have to draw quickly too.
30:40
That's like another thing too. Like you have
30:42
to sketch quickly because like sometimes you
30:44
do like a musical or an opera, you have like
30:46
all these costumes and all these changes and
30:49
you have to be able to just like knock things
30:53
out. pretty quickly I mean I had some like basic
30:56
drawing skills when I came in but I wasn't like
30:58
a figure drawer I wasn't like you know that I
31:01
had to take classes like I took you know like
31:03
drawing classes like from like a model and so
31:07
it was something that I kind of had to learn
31:10
how to do and then kind of had to learn how to
31:12
do quickly very nice yeah very nice tips and
31:15
tricks That you found over time. Who makes the
31:20
best shapewear? Asking for myself. So, but here's,
31:25
like, so we've heard from, you know, we obviously
31:28
deal with the ballet a lot, and they always want
31:31
to share that vodka is used very well for cleaning
31:35
and things like that. Vodka for costumes, yes.
31:39
Well, I have to think about this, but, I mean,
31:40
I'll just sort of riff on vodka. So, yes, a vodka
31:43
does not have a scent, but it, you know, you
31:46
spray it on. On costumes, because it kills the
31:49
bacteria. Because any time you have sweat on
31:51
costumes, you have bacteria. It's not a means
31:54
of cleaning. You still eventually have to clean
31:56
stuff. But it keeps the sweat from the clothes
32:01
becoming really smelly. And that's been around
32:03
for a long time. But yeah, that's tips and tricks.
32:07
I usually shop from Bare Necessities or Her Room.
32:12
Both of those are like good websites and they
32:14
have like a variety of different brands. And
32:18
they also show you exactly how to take measurements.
32:21
So if you're not wearing the right size, you
32:24
can just go onto their website and they'll give
32:27
you some guidance. That's a good tip. Zappos
32:33
is a good place for shoes, and you could usually
32:37
get shoes in two days, you know, depending. I
32:41
understand you worked on Biagio Abrams. Mm -hmm.
32:45
My family had a box for exactly half of one of
32:50
those productions because the kids were going
32:52
nuts by the time intermission rolled around.
32:55
And tickets were only $11. Right. Grab your tickets
32:59
today. So you did not get to see the end? No.
33:03
But we got to see the... A portion where the
33:07
art comes out. Did you work on that? Well, yes.
33:09
So that was a production that, yes, I worked
33:11
on the production. It came from the Dutch National
33:14
Opera. So it was a production that we remounted.
33:17
But it was like a big production. A lot of fittings,
33:21
a lot of people to fit in clothes. And we did
33:23
have to make some additional costumes to kind
33:25
of match the production. And it was a conceptual
33:29
-like production. So these different supernumeraries
33:33
would kind of come out. and represented like
33:36
famous paintings. So good. And then the very
33:39
end, which I know you had to leave, but at the
33:42
very end, there was like a big painting where
33:46
everybody came out and was like represented in
33:48
this painting that featured King Charles. That
33:52
was crazy because it was like literally everybody
33:55
had to do a quick change. So it was, like, the
33:58
backstage was insane. There was, like, more happening
34:02
backstage than there was on stage. And some of
34:05
the designers today said that, you know, when
34:07
the curtain does eventually go up, their job
34:09
is already done. Yeah. And they walk away. Right.
34:12
Is that the same thing that happens at Costume
34:14
Unit? Or you're there for that process? Well,
34:17
at Opera Philadelphia, because I run the costume
34:19
department, like, that's, like, an ongoing, like,
34:22
you know, like, I'm on staff there. So that job
34:25
never ends. But if I'm designing a production,
34:29
for the most part, once the show opens, I'm done.
34:34
The stage managers put out what's called a performance
34:38
report. In the rehearsal process, there's a rehearsal
34:42
report that's issued where you will see what's
34:46
happening in rehearsal and you'll get notes.
34:49
Once the show opens, there's a performance report.
34:51
So there might be something that comes up. Usually
34:54
it's taken care of in -house, but sometimes something
34:57
happens and you're called on to do something.
35:02
Oftentimes with the production, if there's something
35:05
that I borrowed from someplace, so I might need
35:10
to go get the thing that's borrowed. So there's
35:12
that after the show closes. And sometimes I use
35:17
some of my own stuff too, so I need to get back
35:19
the thing. Oh my gosh. Don't you touch that.
35:24
Don't you touch that. Don't you break that. I
35:27
know. Exactly. I'm like, I don't know. Don't
35:30
want to. It's good to know. Yes. I know. Can
35:35
you share with us about the process of that production
35:38
that might come in partially already kind of
35:41
done, right? Or that actor that did it in...
35:47
Paris is not the same actor that does it in Philly.
35:49
Yes. So for productions like that, the best analogy
35:53
I like to use is that my job in those situations
35:57
is like taking a puzzle and making it fit another
36:01
puzzle. So you have some of the pieces, and then
36:04
you have to kind of make it work. So we frequently
36:09
do, like I said, we frequently do have productions
36:12
that come in a different cast. So I have to look
36:16
at all the measurements of the singers that previously
36:19
did it. And there's some productions that have
36:21
been around for a long time. And they're putting
36:23
them in with the production notes or like the
36:26
production package. Yeah, so we'll get... Usually.
36:31
Usually. In an ideal world. Sometimes we don't.
36:33
In an ideal world. In an ideal world, we'll get
36:36
the measurements of the cast saying it previously.
36:40
Gotcha. So I'll look at those measurements, and
36:42
oftentimes they're, you know, if it's a European
36:44
production, it's in centimeters, so then I have
36:46
to convert it. Oh. So. This is terrible. So,
36:53
yes. So then I convert. all the measurements,
36:57
look at it and be like, okay, this person is
37:02
this tall. These are the circumference measurements.
37:05
You know, this person's a 40. Our person's a
37:07
42. We could probably fit. It depends. Jackets
37:12
are sometimes hard because it's like there's
37:14
not a lot of seam allowance. But if it's like
37:17
you have somebody that's a 40 and you have somebody
37:19
that's like, you know, a 52, obviously that's
37:21
not going to fit. Is it something that's made?
37:24
Did they make this? Or is it something that was
37:26
purchased? Is it a gray suit and I could just
37:29
go buy a gray suit? Or is it like a period costume
37:32
like Viaggio where it's like they were these
37:35
blue velvet frock coats? It's like, nope, we
37:38
have to make the blue velvet. Did they send extra
37:40
fabric? No, because the production was done like
37:44
10 years ago. So I have to go to New York. I
37:47
have to buy the blue velvet. Like, you know,
37:49
like swatch the blue velvet or just purchase
37:51
it if I know exactly the shade or whatever. And
37:54
then we make those costumes. But I have to, like,
37:57
create a list of all the things of, like, what
38:00
will work, what won't. When you have a chorus,
38:03
sometimes it's a little easier because you can
38:07
move things around. So if you have, you know,
38:10
a chorus and they're all wearing, like, blue
38:13
velvet jackets, I'm like, I could. you know,
38:16
kind of move things around. But also remember
38:19
in opera, everything is saying, everything's
38:22
like, you know, a vocal designation. So it might
38:25
be that I have the perfect tenor that's going
38:28
to fit in this jacket, but that's saying by like
38:31
a bass role. So I can't have that person wear
38:35
that. So that's like a vocal designation. And
38:38
sometimes it doesn't matter, but sometimes it
38:40
does. So that's something that I will ask, like,
38:43
you know, I'll ask like my colleague. about that
38:46
and determine, you know, if that's something
38:48
that's going to work. Philadelphia had previously
38:52
a very large fabric industry in the city. Yeah,
38:57
it's gone. They're only being villager, some
38:59
of them. It's gone, yeah. There's a few left.
39:04
There's Fleischmann's, which is a great, like
39:06
I highly recommend people continue support, like
39:09
local businesses. Fleischmann's is a great. store
39:12
they have lots of notions they have fabric but
39:15
there used to be what was called fabric row which
39:17
is on south fourth street there's still a few
39:20
stores left but a lot of them have gone away
39:23
you know they kind of went away when because
39:26
of e -commerce and even in new york there's fewer
39:30
and fewer stores and because of the high cost
39:33
of rent it used to be you would go to the stores
39:35
and there would just be bolts and bolts of fabric
39:37
and you could just look at it you could pull
39:39
the fabric out you could look at it because It's,
39:41
like, really hard to know if the fabric is going
39:45
to work just by looking at it online. Like, I
39:49
just bought a bunch of swatches. I think I spent,
39:51
like, $100 on swatches for a project. And I got
39:54
them, and I'm like, this doesn't look like anything.
39:58
This is not what I want. There might be one fabric
40:01
that I can use out of all of the swatches that
40:04
I got. So you really need to be able to feel
40:06
the fabric and see it in person, how it hangs,
40:09
how it catches the light. But now in New York,
40:14
what they have are cards. So rather than the
40:17
fabric bolts, you just have a card. So you can
40:21
still see the fabric. But then rather than be
40:24
able to take the fabric home with you that day,
40:26
it has to come from a warehouse. Usually they're
40:28
in New Jersey or Long Island. So it used to be
40:31
I could get fabric shipped the next day. Now
40:33
it takes longer. Tips and tricks. I do have another
40:37
tip and trick. FedEx. FedEx from New York to
40:41
Philadelphia, do ground shipping, never do express
40:45
air because it will end up in Memphis. If you
40:49
do an express and you pay more to have something
40:52
express shipped to Philadelphia from New York,
40:55
it will cost significantly more and it will take
40:58
longer. Oh, that's a good tip. That's a good
41:03
one. I love it. I love it. Millie, can you share
41:07
what is next for you? So I have upcoming, I have
41:12
this musical that I alluded to, No, No, Nanette,
41:15
at Rutgers. I'm doing a show for Theater XL,
41:20
which is called Gruesome Playground Injuries.
41:24
And the opera is remounting a production of Suddenly
41:29
Last Summer at the Forest. It was at the Bard
41:32
over the summer. Excellent, excellent. And where
41:37
can our audience find you online? Well, this
41:39
is embarrassing part of this. I do not have a
41:43
website. That's perfectly fine. I'm so embarrassed.
41:45
So I had a website and I just kind of let it
41:48
go. And I'm in the process of trying to put together
41:53
all of these images and documents to get back
41:57
up online. Are you on Instagram? I am on Instagram.
42:00
Do you want to share it? I don't remember. handle.
42:03
You can just look up my name. Oh, we requested
42:05
you already. M -H -I -I -B -E -L. Oh, did you
42:08
guys like already? I guess so. Yeah. We'll be
42:13
in limbo. We'll be in limbo. Well, this is the
42:16
trouble part because I was like, I kind of took
42:19
a break from social media. Yeah. Which was actually
42:22
really good because it became like one less thing
42:24
that I had to do. Yeah. And I just found that
42:27
just so like liberating. And I'm like, I don't
42:32
need to share everything I do. But then there's
42:35
a part of me, like, for the professional side,
42:38
I'm like, you have to also market yourself and
42:41
finding that balance of marketing yourself but
42:45
not having to be online all the time. And what
42:48
is that? What is that like? You're not the only
42:52
one in the design area to share that today. Because
42:57
it's, like, the extra part of the job of, like,
43:01
Putting yourself out there and continuing to
43:03
promote so that other people know that you're
43:05
still doing everything. Well, that's exactly
43:08
right. And, like, I ran into somebody recently,
43:10
and they're like, oh. You're still in the game?
43:13
Yeah, well, like, I haven't seen. It's terrible.
43:18
Yes. But I think they were just asking, like,
43:20
just a personal level, like, are you okay? I
43:24
was like, because I haven't put anything, like,
43:25
online. I'm like, no. just living my life you
43:29
know so i think yeah i think it is how do you
43:32
yes how do you manage that because it's it's
43:35
also like it's the algorithms too that's the
43:38
thing that is like so frustrating is you're you
43:41
know you're being fed these things that this
43:43
content that that you don't want or you don't
43:47
need as opposed to the things that you do right
43:50
yes like sourcing fabrics Millie, thank you so
43:59
much for your time today. We'll be right back
44:02
with rapid -fire questions. Oh, you're okay.
44:05
And we're back with Millie with rapid -fire questions.
44:13
Millie, your favorite Philadelphia neighborhood?
44:16
I do like Queen Village. I do. I do like the
44:20
vibe, even though the fabric stores are mostly
44:22
gone. I love the little coffee shops, the little
44:24
boutiques. Yeah, there's like a real charm to
44:28
that. I love that. Your dream production to costume?
44:34
Oh, well, I love Noel Coward, so I always say
44:40
that I would love to do Noel Coward, but I want
44:45
to do it with a lot of money. Yes! It's the only
44:50
way to do Noel Coward. I did Blake Spirit in
44:54
high school. Best thrift shop in Philly? Oh,
44:59
well, actually... New Jersey. Oh, I love that.
45:03
I would say, yes, there's some great thrift stores
45:06
in New Jersey. Second Avenue Thrift, which is
45:12
like, there's actually several of them, but there's
45:15
one on, I think it's technically Pensaken. It's
45:19
like where 38, I always get this confused. I've
45:22
been living in New Jersey for a while now, so
45:24
it's embarrassing. But I think it's like 38 meets
45:26
70. Anyway, it's great because it's so organized.
45:32
So you go in and you're like, I need, tell me
45:36
something. I need like, you know, a yellow dress.
45:39
So you go to the dresses and they have everything
45:43
sectioned off by color. So it. So quick, so I
45:48
don't have to go into the thrift store and just
45:50
know that I'm going to spend hours and hours
45:52
and hours. I can go, and sometimes people put
45:54
things in the wrong place, but you at least have
45:56
some sort of direction to go and you can go and
45:59
get your thing. Oh, that's great. Yes. Good.
46:01
Definitely. For the production that required
46:06
the most amount of multiples, how many multiples
46:10
were there? The production that... Had the most
46:16
amount of multiples. And that could be anything?
46:19
Yeah, anything. Like, this person needs to have
46:21
how many dresses because the dress gets wet.
46:25
Oh, I see. So if something, like, yes, gets wet
46:29
or bloody. Hmm. Oh, well, this is hard because,
46:33
I mean, I've done so many productions. I would
46:35
say the most maybe, like, three or four. Okay.
46:41
Yeah. And then on average, how many extra of
46:45
anything do you have to have on hand? Usually
46:49
we have multiples of what we call skins. So those
46:52
are the things that get laundered, like touch
46:54
the skin. So the main costume, we just have one
46:57
thing. But, I mean, the skins, we might have
47:01
multiples. Now, for Broadway tours, they do have
47:05
a lot of multiples. they might be doing like
47:09
two show days, sometimes three show days. So
47:13
they have to have multiples because the turnaround
47:16
time, they might not be able to get everything
47:18
laundered and some things have to be air dried
47:20
and that might not be dry for the next performance.
47:23
Gotcha. So it's common in Broadway and particularly
47:27
Broadway tours to have multiple sets of things.
47:30
I'm trying to think like... I worked on a production,
47:34
a tour of Hamilton, and I think there were a
47:37
lot of, like, multiple sets of things, like,
47:40
just in case. We could play Fuck, Marry, Kill,
47:44
grunge rock, rock stars, if you want. I'm going
47:51
to land the plane. Land the plane. Millie, thank
47:56
you so much for your time today. Thank you for
47:58
sharing your story and your journey with us.
48:00
And everyone... Continue to check out Millie's
48:03
journey, especially at Opera Philadelphia this
48:07
year. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. What a badass.
48:22
Love Millie. I could talk to her forever about
48:26
Seattle in the 90s and then Philadelphia in the
48:29
90s. I would do a compare and contrast there.
48:32
Yeah, yeah. You really love that time period.
48:35
Nostalgic, simpler time. Continue to see Millie's
48:40
work as she continues to costume the opera this
48:43
year. Pivoting! Philadelphia Ballet's production
48:47
of Dance at Great Velocity is running from Thursday,
48:51
October 15th to Sunday, October 18th at the Academy
48:56
of Music. And you have tickets for Friday and
48:59
Saturday night? Yes, I do. Can't wait. It should
49:02
be so fun. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
49:06
presents Jennifer Ko. on violin, and Vijay Iyer
49:11
on piano on Friday, October 16th at 7 .30 at
49:16
the Perlman Theater at the Kimmel Center. This
49:20
weekend is the East of Broad half of Philadelphia
49:23
Open Studio Tours. The Great Gatsby is opening
49:27
next Tuesday, October 20th at the Academy of
49:31
Music. Reminder people, Gatsby is not an appropriate
49:36
wedding theme. Lou, who does that? Bitches who
49:40
were into Pinterest, that's who. It's time to
49:42
say it. Philly has heart. And art. Oh my gosh,
50:20
this Saturday. What? It might be a whole family
50:23
outing. Uh, no, we're going with Karen is in
50:28
town, remember? Okay, bitch, I'm talking about
50:30
my family. Oh, stop it! Some people also have
50:34
families, Lucinda. Wait, your mom's going? My
50:40
mom wants to go. My brother's going to go. His
50:43
like on and off girlfriend's going to come.