An army of mannequins lines the wall of the costume shop as costume designer Thereza Oleinick stands hunched over pinning and primping each dress. She is working fast and talking even faster as she brings me though the complex process of costume design. She is explaining her fabric decisions, when her hands suddenly out pace her eyes and the pin pricks her index finger. She recoils from the mannequin, frantically shaking her hand. Oleinick shrugs her shoulders and tells me, "hey, it's part of the job."
Oleinick received a Bachelor of Arts in speech and drama at the University of Iowa and studied costume design at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia before moving to New York to design for off-Broadway shows.
“That’s where all the real experimental stuff in theatre happens,” Oleinick said.
Before coming to Auburn, Oleinick taught at the City College of New York.
“I learned so much while working at the City College of New York,” Oleinick said. “It was a place full of talented people who couldn’t necessarily afford Julliard or NYU.”
Oleinick teaches four classes on costume construction and stage makeup while designing all of the costumes for shows at the Telfair Peet Theatre.
Oleinick said all of the costumes are handmade.
“We tell you so much about the character before they even speak,” Oleinick said. “A costume has to tell the audience right away who they are, if you like them, if their character is good or bad, et cetera.”
The upcoming production, “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” includes one costume change per person that spans a decade. Oleinick said the time change was the main difficulty in designing.
“The first costume is for the prom set in 1958,” Oleinick said. “There is a good deal of bright colors and sparkle sheer. By the end of the play we are in 1968, so the costumes are muted tones of the same color of their prom dress. This way the character can remain their identity through the time change.”
Vicky Anton, costume shop manager at the Telfair Peet Theatre, said limited time to make the costumes was a second source of anxiety for the production.
“With only two weeks to complete the dresses we were very lucky this production only had eight costumes,” Anton said. “Normally we will get five weeks to complete a show’s costumes, but because we just closed ‘La Bete’ last week we couldn’t have the full five weeks.”
Design work on pieces for the production began in the spring when Oleinick contacted former student Danielle Griffith to help her with the multiple wig designs. All eight wigs that will be used are handmade and include a lace front to appear more lifelike on stage.
“I’m so excited to see wigs on stage,” said Tyler Baxter, junior in musical theatre and current costume construction student. “The actress wearing the blue dress has these bright blue eyes that will just pop against her red wig. It’s going to be so great.”
The costumes are made during the lab hours of students taking costume construction, which gives them firsthand experience at creating pieces.
“I love working on the costumes, but I already know how to make a corset or add a collar,” Oleinick said. “I want the students to learn. I want them to come away from this class confident they can make a costume for a show.”
Rachel Pair, sophomore in musical theatre, completed some of the work her own costume.
“The costumes are actually very comfortable,” Pair said. “At my last fitting they hadn’t put in the zipper yet to make sure it fit. Because my character says she designed all the dresses for their performance, mine is, of course, the biggest and brightest dress.”
The show opened Tuesday and runs through Friday.
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