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Friday, October 09, 2020
The Best of All Possible Costumes: An Interview with Costume Designer Judith Dolan
The Theatre Times: In March 2020, Colden Lamb had the opportunity to sit down with award-winning costume designer Judith Dolan and ask her about her work on multiple productions of Candide with legendary director Harold Prince.
I really enjoy these types of interviews because it gives me a glimpse into the creative process of a designer. I also understand the way the industry works a little better each time. I think it’s really inspiring that she applied for a job with this famous director even though she didn’t think she would get it, but she ended up getting to do three shows with him. I loved when she said that she didn’t look at the designs of past productions for inspiration because she wanted the designs to be original. As a designer, I think is very useful to look to others art as inspiration but when it comes to remaking a show I agree that it’s better not too. Maybe if there was a specific challenge with something and you wanted to see how others handled it, it would be worth it. I also enjoyed her perspective about how the show changed when it was but on a bigger stage or how the audience reacted to certain characters when they changed the costumes. It’s very interesting how little things like that can really influence the show.
The interview managed to capture a sense of humanity as Judith Dolan retold some of her ventures as a costume designer. The stories felt personal, even when she was talking about working in Broadway and alongside renown people in the industry. I really loved how she walked through some of her creative process. I admire her decision of not looking at the original designs for inspiration as it could muddle her own vision of the project. As a visual learner that surprised me, as I often rely on the examples of others so I can recreate or create something myself. When asked about what she remembers most fondly, I do share her thoughts about loving all of her previous work. There is something to be learned from past experiences, both good and bad, that simply cannot be boiled down to pinpoint a singular favorite moment.
I really enjoyed this intimate interview with renowned costume designer Judith Dolan. Her costume work on the opera Candide garnered her a Tony award and after looking at the images of her work I can tell why. She is able to express herself through fabric and cloth in a way that not many people can do. I found it interesting that she talked about how the hardest thing to design for in the world is a musical. She goes into her work knowing this and is able to take up that challenge and exceed in her field. I loved how she conveyed the satiric edge and wit of Voltaire’s work in her costumes. I learned about her job finding process, it was cool to see how she got the gig by applying on Backstage. What I found the most interesting was her design process in relation to the scenic design of the play. When the production made its way to Broadway, the scenic designer picked very bold and circus like colors. As a result, Judith Dolan had to change her costumes because as designed they would not have been able to be seen on stage. She chose to bolden all of the colors to compete with the beautiful but complicated scenic design. I learned a lot about the collaborative process between Scenic Designers and Costume Designers because the two art forms are the visual style of the whole production.
It is always exciting to read the interviews with famous designers and understand how they work, as every single designer has their own vision and way of working. I think one of the difficulties that designers confront, especially within theater, is to maintain the balance between collaboration and insisting his or her own creativity. I liked how Judith Dolan approached the point. Instead of strictly following the actual time period, she and the director decided to pick up the concept of Candide being a satirical dark comedy, making the costumes lighter. I think this attempts often help audience approach the literature as well; Candide is of course one of the funniest book that I have ever read, but there were a few literature that I never was interested in before I watched the related theatrical performances. How she adjusted through various performances and worked in a flexible way was also fun to read. Especially in terms of the wig, I liked how she let different actors wear different wig (or sometimes even no wig) even though they were playing the same characters.
I really enjoy reading interviews with designers because it offers an excellent glimpse into not only their creative process, but also their own personal feelings about a specific show. Reading this interview with Judith Dolan offered a great perspective on costume design. I found it very interesting that Dolan thinks the hardest thing to design for is a musical, but it makes a lot of sense based on things she addressed later in the interview. First of all, the scale of a musical can be a challenge to work through, particularly on the design side. Dolan had to navigate different hair and make-up artists, and her control over this element of the design was constantly shifting. Additionally, there are so many things a costume designer must consider when working on a musical, in particular functionality. Dolan discussed all the changes she had to make so that the dancers and acrobats would be able to do their job safely and correctly.
I found this article very refreshing to read since convid wasn't mentioned once. I think it is so interesting when a designer is asked to revisit or remount a production which they had previously done. Ms. Dolan’s situation I think is similar to that of Ann Houl-Ward who has remounted so many different productions of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and often redesigned it. It’s very important for the costumes of a show to make a statement and it is obvious Judith Dolan accomplished this. Although I have not seen the production of Candide, I can tell that she was able to enhance the characters and also make certain parts more memorable. Also I totally understood what she said about the Gershwin Theatre not being right for the piece. It is often referred to as a barn house just because it is so large and you can't really have much intimacy there.
What a wonderful article to celebrate the work and successes of costume designer Judith Dolan. The article gives a glimpse into the challenges of designing a piece that has been done time and time again… eventually, the audience believes they know what to expect, and it is almost impossible to ignore the work of designers before you. Dolan mentions her ability to tune out what has been done before, minus mentioning some reasons why previous designs don’t work, to format a piece and style that is truly her own. Furthermore, the images in the article itself show the life in Dolan’s designs. Her works include layers, textures, and distressing, bringing life to her characters in ways that appeal to the eye. However, when she speaks about wig design, or how she doesn’t think it translated well, I feel that is bad form. Designers should not push failed aspects of their design onto others on the team.
7 comments:
I really enjoy these types of interviews because it gives me a glimpse into the creative process of a designer. I also understand the way the industry works a little better each time. I think it’s really inspiring that she applied for a job with this famous director even though she didn’t think she would get it, but she ended up getting to do three shows with him. I loved when she said that she didn’t look at the designs of past productions for inspiration because she wanted the designs to be original. As a designer, I think is very useful to look to others art as inspiration but when it comes to remaking a show I agree that it’s better not too. Maybe if there was a specific challenge with something and you wanted to see how others handled it, it would be worth it. I also enjoyed her perspective about how the show changed when it was but on a bigger stage or how the audience reacted to certain characters when they changed the costumes. It’s very interesting how little things like that can really influence the show.
The interview managed to capture a sense of humanity as Judith Dolan retold some of her ventures as a costume designer. The stories felt personal, even when she was talking about working in Broadway and alongside renown people in the industry. I really loved how she walked through some of her creative process. I admire her decision of not looking at the original designs for inspiration as it could muddle her own vision of the project. As a visual learner that surprised me, as I often rely on the examples of others so I can recreate or create something myself. When asked about what she remembers most fondly, I do share her thoughts about loving all of her previous work. There is something to be learned from past experiences, both good and bad, that simply cannot be boiled down to pinpoint a singular favorite moment.
I really enjoyed this intimate interview with renowned costume designer Judith Dolan. Her costume work on the opera Candide garnered her a Tony award and after looking at the images of her work I can tell why. She is able to express herself through fabric and cloth in a way that not many people can do. I found it interesting that she talked about how the hardest thing to design for in the world is a musical. She goes into her work knowing this and is able to take up that challenge and exceed in her field. I loved how she conveyed the satiric edge and wit of Voltaire’s work in her costumes. I learned about her job finding process, it was cool to see how she got the gig by applying on Backstage. What I found the most interesting was her design process in relation to the scenic design of the play. When the production made its way to Broadway, the scenic designer picked very bold and circus like colors. As a result, Judith Dolan had to change her costumes because as designed they would not have been able to be seen on stage. She chose to bolden all of the colors to compete with the beautiful but complicated scenic design. I learned a lot about the collaborative process between Scenic Designers and Costume Designers because the two art forms are the visual style of the whole production.
It is always exciting to read the interviews with famous designers and understand how they work, as every single designer has their own vision and way of working. I think one of the difficulties that designers confront, especially within theater, is to maintain the balance between collaboration and insisting his or her own creativity. I liked how Judith Dolan approached the point. Instead of strictly following the actual time period, she and the director decided to pick up the concept of Candide being a satirical dark comedy, making the costumes lighter. I think this attempts often help audience approach the literature as well; Candide is of course one of the funniest book that I have ever read, but there were a few literature that I never was interested in before I watched the related theatrical performances. How she adjusted through various performances and worked in a flexible way was also fun to read. Especially in terms of the wig, I liked how she let different actors wear different wig (or sometimes even no wig) even though they were playing the same characters.
I really enjoy reading interviews with designers because it offers an excellent glimpse into not only their creative process, but also their own personal feelings about a specific show. Reading this interview with Judith Dolan offered a great perspective on costume design. I found it very interesting that Dolan thinks the hardest thing to design for is a musical, but it makes a lot of sense based on things she addressed later in the interview. First of all, the scale of a musical can be a challenge to work through, particularly on the design side. Dolan had to navigate different hair and make-up artists, and her control over this element of the design was constantly shifting. Additionally, there are so many things a costume designer must consider when working on a musical, in particular functionality. Dolan discussed all the changes she had to make so that the dancers and acrobats would be able to do their job safely and correctly.
I found this article very refreshing to read since convid wasn't mentioned once. I think it is so interesting when a designer is asked to revisit or remount a production which they had previously done. Ms. Dolan’s situation I think is similar to that of Ann Houl-Ward who has remounted so many different productions of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and often redesigned it. It’s very important for the costumes of a show to make a statement and it is obvious Judith Dolan accomplished this. Although I have not seen the production of Candide, I can tell that she was able to enhance the characters and also make certain parts more memorable. Also I totally understood what she said about the Gershwin Theatre not being right for the piece. It is often referred to as a barn house just because it is so large and you can't really have much intimacy there.
What a wonderful article to celebrate the work and successes of costume designer Judith Dolan. The article gives a glimpse into the challenges of designing a piece that has been done time and time again… eventually, the audience believes they know what to expect, and it is almost impossible to ignore the work of designers before you. Dolan mentions her ability to tune out what has been done before, minus mentioning some reasons why previous designs don’t work, to format a piece and style that is truly her own. Furthermore, the images in the article itself show the life in Dolan’s designs. Her works include layers, textures, and distressing, bringing life to her characters in ways that appeal to the eye. However, when she speaks about wig design, or how she doesn’t think it translated well, I feel that is bad form. Designers should not push failed aspects of their design onto others on the team.
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