Art can take on many different forms in the production of a theater performance. The performing arts, literary arts and visual arts work together to create an immersive experience for audience members.
Dressing the Part: Randy Forester
One of the creative minds behind the theatrical arts is Randy Forester, who made his debut as a costume designer for the Chattanooga Theatre Centre in 2019.
“I like creating something innovative and beautiful. I just love making pretty things,” Forester says.
He specializes in Elizabethan costumes and has created costumes for such productions as “Pride and Prejudice,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Something Rotten!” and “SCROOGE! The Musical.”
“A lot of people go, ‘Well, Randy, you must be a fashion designer.’ I’m not a fashion designer. I’m a costume designer,” Forester says. “I don’t necessarily want to make things that people wear every day. I want things that are specialty items.”
Costume design helps set the mood for performances. When performers put on their costumes, they really become their character, almost like they are putting on their skin.
According to Forester, budget is a big part of costume designing, but any creative mind can come up with a solution to solve any budgeting issues. On multiple occasions, Forester has been out shopping and has come across cheap clothing or other items that could be used in place of expensive fabrics.
“One time, I was walking through Walmart, and I just happened to pass these curtains that were the right color for the outfit I was working on. I thought to myself, oh, I’ll make it out of that. Walmart just happened to have enough of those curtains for the fabric that I needed,” Forester says. “I like to call those encounters a bunch of happy accidents.”
Along with these serendipitous finds, Forester’s passion for costume designing can also be credited to appreciation from the cast. He says that a designer won’t necessarily know if the audience appreciates their work, but when the cast vocalizes their appreciation for the costumes, it really makes a difference.
Set In His Ways: Scott Dunlap
Another master of the theatrical arts is Scott Dunlap, who came to the Chattanooga Theatre Centre in 1987. Since then, he has been working at the Centre on and off designing sets and costumes. He’s designed for productions that include “Beauty and the Beast,” “Strega Nona” and “The Cake.”
“Beauty and the Beast” was one of Dunlap’s favorite shows to design for. With characters such as a teapot and a giant-sized clock, you really have to embrace creativity when creating costumes.
In addition to using his imagination while designing for the theater, Dunlap also relies on historical knowledge and color theory to make his designs come to life. He fully immerses himself in his work, spending countless hours on background research to make sure that both the costumes and sets accurately tell the story.
“I like to add some flashy things into my designs that make everything a little more interesting, both for the audience and also for myself as a designer,” Dunlap says. “Just building somebody’s living room isn’t necessarily fun. I always ask myself what things I can add to make the story that we’re telling unique.”
One play that Dunlap recently designed for was “The Cake,” a story about a baker who is contemplating making a cake for a gay wedding. Although the majority of the play takes place in her bakery, there were some scenes that occurred in other settings. Dunlap got creative to make the entire set look like a cake that was missing a piece. When changing scenes, parts of the bakery would open up, a bed would come out from underneath the countertop or a toilet would come through a wall.
“In some aspects, set and costume design are not important. You can tell the story without those things. Those things are sort of icing on the cake. But just like a beautiful birthday cake, the prettier the cake is, the better it tastes,” Dunlap says. “I think [that design is something] that you should both notice and ignore. A good costume or set design, when you’re immersed in the world and you’re not thinking, you’re not really noticing it.”
Check out theatrecentre.com to learn more.