Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s costumer retiring after 28 years

In theater’s visual medium, costuming can convey the personality of a character to the audience before that actor ever says a word.

No one understands this better than Kay Jennings, who has been designing costumes for Chattanooga Theatre Centre productions for 28 years, first as a volunteer and then an employee.

Her elaborate, red velvet, beaded and fringed gown set the tone when DeLisa Tanner Mason made an unforgettable entrance down the grand stairway into the Harmonia Gardens as Dolly Levi in “Hello Dolly.” Iridescent rhinestones twinkling on Capt. Hook’s brocade vest hinted at that storybook villain’s vanity when Jim Kennedy played the role in “Peter Pan.”

With the opening of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” on Friday, Ms. Jennings will be hanging up her shears. She is returning to her hometown of Fremont, Mich., to care for her elderly mother. Scott Dunlap has been named the CTC’s new costumer.

Mr. Kennedy, a favorite CTC actor, called Ms. Jennings’ tenure “a magical part of the Little Theatre experience.”

Ms. Jennings’ first association with the theater was as an actress when she was cast in the 1979 musical revue “Rodgers and Hart: A Musical Celebration.”

Her first role as a volunteer costumer was in 1980 for “Dames at Sea.” That same year, she quit her job in the grants office at UTC to work for the theater on a show-by-show basis. She would submit a bid to costume a show, she said, and she got to keep an unused money.

“I learned to work frugally. About $400 was the most I would make for three months work,” she said chuckling.

She left Chattanooga for short stints as a costumer with the Atlanta Ballet then two seasons with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Upon her return to Chattanooga in 1984, she became a full-time employee of the theater.

Before ever cutting a pattern, Ms. Jennings spends hours researching the fashion of a play’s era. She reads each play twice; first for overall story, then to mark number of costume changes per character, accessories mentioned as well as entrances and exits so she knows how long each character has for costume changes.

“The first step is to know the play as well as she can, then talk to the director about how he sees the play, what the overall vision is for the look of the play,” said Jeffrey Brown, producing director.

“She’s thinking about things such as fashion that would have been correct in that time period, color, cut, making sure costumes don’t clash with scenic design, making sure actors feel comfortable in what they are wearing — which she has been successful in doing for many years,” the director said.

Some of her biggest challenges have included creating 275 costume changes for “Dreamgirls,” Ms. Jennings said, or 24 breakaway-yet-sturdy costumes for the dancers in “A Chorus Line.” Her costuming for “Showboat” spanned the fashions of 40 years with a minimum of six changes apiece for 50 cast members.

Along the way, she’s learned money-saving tricks of the trade such as shopping on eBay for rare vintage finds and keeping a measurement file with all costumes and measurements recorded so that costumes may be recycled among actors of similar sizes.

She said she has learned to clean theatrical blood quickly and tidily from clothing so costumes aren’t ruined for the remainder of the show’s run. She supervises dressing areas where costuming, hair and makeup changes are streamlined for split-second efficiency.

According to Jan Belk, CTC marketing spokeswoman, Ms. Jennings is a “stickler” for correct costuming.

“If you’re wearing a vintage gown, then you’ve got vintage undergarments on beneath it,” Ms. Belk said pointing to racks of corsets and chemises in the costume shop.

Her innovative ideas have helped actors into the spirit of their characters.

For Mr. Kennedy’s role as Capt. Hook, she built the villain’s metallic prosthetic with the use of a 2-liter soda bottle. A shiny silver hook was attached to the small end of the plastic bottle. The bottom of the bottle was cut away so that the actor cold slide his arm into the bottle, which was then covered by the blouson sleeve of his shirt.

Ms. Jennings credits head dresser Peggy Moore and an “invaluable” volunteer crew in the costume shop for the success of her work.

“The reason people love Kay so much is that in addition to being so talented she has the disposition to deal with the anxiety and frustration that goes with getting the costume on. She is willing to do anything to make something more comfortable and she’s done it with incredible aplomb,” Mr. Kennedy said.

Mr. Brown said Ms. Jennings will be honored with an after-show reception Friday and April 5, opening weekend of her final show. Theater patrons are invited to share best wishes with the costumer and view some of her work, which will be displayed in the lobby.

There is no additional charge for the reception other than the price of that night’s ticket, but reservations are needed at the box office. Call 267-8534.

Bringing characters to life

* “My first time onstage in Chattanooga after moving here a year and a half ago, I played this glamorous movie star in ‘20th Century’ with seven quick changes. Kay created a custom wardrobe that turned me into a classic, blonde, movie star.” — Kim Jackson (a petite brunette).

* “Capt. Hook’s costume started with tights, then heavy pants, then boots, then a lace-trimmed shirt followed by a brocade vest, red velvet coat, a wig and hat. It was so classic, so elaborate and so memorable to me because it was so heavy. I lost 12 pounds during the course of that show.” — Jim Kennedy

* “The original plan was that the Tin Man’s costume would be tin, but I’d done a show where it was and it was hard to work in. Kay made a costume of two layers of leather reinforced with chicken wire sandwiched between the layers to keep it rigid, then she sewed seat-belt nylon at the joints for movement. I also wore a silver jumpsuit underneath the leather pieces so the audience would only see silver when the joints moved.” — Zachary James Cavan