Jade Lo, left, and Sara Manos, Costume Co-Designers for TISCH DRAMA STAGE's "Sweeney Todd," make alternations to a period dress they are building.
Bit by bit, stich by stich, TISCH DRAMA STAGE is dressing its production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, opening February 27th in the Iris Cantor Theatre. Before needles were threaded, Costume Co-Designers Jade Lo and Sara Manos researched the period and collaborated in initial concept meetings with production director Kent Gash.
With preliminary sketches agreed upon, the pair shoppped for fabrics, shared sample folders, and began to build costumes reflecting the fashion of 19th Century London. Form followed function, as special attention was given to the themes of the musical and the venue. Lo and Manos looked for fabrics that would "read" well in the large theater venue and hold up to the theatrical blood used in the musical thriller.
The design team quickly established a collaborative relationship. "Working together has been truly incredible," said Manos. "We have been completely in collaboration with each other from the early phases of the design process—creating character boards side-by-side—so we have a tightly unified design vision."
Lo added: "We were able to establish a strong shared design language early on in our collaboration. At the same time, we are each constantly bringing our unique perspectives to the table, and it's a joy to be able to merge all of these ideas into something even more exciting."
Once research was completed, the costume team sketched a preliminary design for a character in "Sweeney Todd."
Fabric samples were bought and proposed to the director.
