{"id":66638,"date":"2025-03-25T17:02:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T21:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=66638"},"modified":"2025-04-02T07:59:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T11:59:17","slug":"picking-all-the-right-pieces-costume-shop-prepares-for-utc-theatre-co-production-of-john-proctor-is-the-villain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/03\/picking-all-the-right-pieces-costume-shop-prepares-for-utc-theatre-co-production-of-john-proctor-is-the-villain\/","title":{"rendered":"Picking all the right pieces: Costume shop prepares for UTC Theatre Co. production of \u201cJohn Proctor is the Villain\u201d\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Taylor

Taylor Busch (left) helps design costumes for the UTC Theatre Co. musical “Bright Star.” Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

When most people think of college theater, they picture actors delivering lines, musical numbers and dramatic monologues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, however, is a long decision-making and creative process that shapes what the audience sees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Taylor Busch, a visiting assistant professor of costume design at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, that process begins with fabric, color and countless rereads of the script.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI always want to be really true to the story that we\u2019re trying to tell and the story the playwright is trying to tell,\u201d Busch said. \u201cWe are trying to show our version of what we think their story is, and I want to always make sure that we are enforcing the storyline. Nothing feels out of place.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI spend a lot of time reading the characters and trying to get to know their personalities. I think about who they are as people instead of a character.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UTC Theatre Department Head Steve Ray said Busch\u2019s focus on visual storytelling is part of what makes the designs resonate on stage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTaylor is very specific with her colors, which I love,\u201d Ray said. \u201cThat\u2019s what brings the art\u2014when you are that specific about those three things: color, line and texture.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Busch\u2019s work on a recent UTC Theatre Co. production, \u201cBright Star,\u201d is one example of how intricate her design choices can be.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all in our beginning meetings talking about focusing on the land and telling the story of the land and the people that live in it,\u201d Busch said. \u201cI wanted to contribute to that somehow.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She thought the perfect way to connect the costumes to the land would be to draw inspiration from wildflowers native to North Carolina.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started looking at different pictures of them, what they look like at different times of the year and started picking out my color palettes from there,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That level of detail does have some constraints, such as limited time and tight budgets. This is where the students step in, applying what they\u2019ve learned in class to real production work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t say, \u2018I want it cheap and I want it fast, and I don\u2019t have any people to help out,\u2019\u201d Ray said. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to get that. You\u2019re going to get cheap and poorly put together.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, Ray said, the department has a system in place where students will take a \u201cPerformance and Production\u201d practicum course, working 12 hours a week in various shops\u2014including the costume shop.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them don\u2019t come in knowing how to use a serger or a sewing machine or even how to steam a garment,\u201d Ray said. \u201cIt\u2019s very new to a lot of them, but they start out by basic stitching, hand stitching buttons, eventually working up to putting zippers in and cutting and draping or pattern making.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time they\u2019re seniors, if they\u2019re really interested in costume design, they\u2019re doing more advanced stuff in designing and building costumes.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For the upcoming UTC Theatre Co. production, \u201cJohn Proctor is the <\/span>Villain<\/span>,\u201d the costumes are a bit different than what Busch is used to.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than sketching and sewing period-piece wardrobes, she\u2019s sourcing clothes specific to a 2018 high school aesthetic.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To brainstorm, she recalled her 2018 closet and asked others what theirs looked like as well. She laughed as she listed off some of the outfits: A-line dresses with kimono-style cardigans, corduroy button-up skirts, skinny jeans and choker-neck tops.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never designed a show during a time period that I\u2019ve been alive,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been interesting and kind of hard because a lot of these clothes are just not popular anymore.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While designing outfits for the 21st century brought its own difficulties, Busch sees the value in those challenges for the students. Even with simple garments, the process requires patience and precision.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that just basic sewing skills are really good practical life skills to have,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very simple to sew a button on and you can really save your clothes by fixing the hem on pants.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ray said that even for those who aren\u2019t planning to pursue costume design professionally, the costume shop experience helps students build both technical and personal skills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody needs to learn how to sew,\u201d he said. \u201cYour entry-level acting jobs\u2014or what we call summer stock\u2014you\u2019ll usually get to act in a show or two. The third show, you will have a duty that you have to do backstage, which may be working in the costume shop.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The job market for designers, Ray added, is much stronger than other theater-related careers such as acting\u2014where work can be sporadic and competitive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about designers and technicians is they get hired immediately,\u201d Ray said. \u201cMost of them get full rides to graduate programs and after graduate school, they\u2019re constantly in demand for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Busch\u2019s students, the learning process begins in the UTC costume shop.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest takeaway is that you need a lot of patience to work with clothes and I don\u2019t think a lot of students know that,\u201d Busch said. \u201cWhenever they come in here, they think, \u2018Oh, the first time I try it, it\u2019ll work out.\u2019 But one of my mentors in undergraduate school would say, \u2018You sew what you rip.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A production making its Broadway debut this spring is also set to hit the UTC Fine Arts Center\u2019s Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

The UTC Theatre Co. continues its 2024-2025 season with its production of \u201cJohn Proctor is the Villain,\u201d written by playwright Kimberly Belflower. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. from Tuesday, April 8, through Saturday, April 12\u2014with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on April 12.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tickets can be <\/span>purchased online by clicking here<\/span><\/b><\/a> and through the UTC Box Office\u2014in person or by phone (423-425-1423). Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students (with proof of student ID) and seniors.<\/span>
\n\u00a0 <\/span>
\nThe UTC Fine Arts Center is located at the intersection of Dr. Roland Carter Street (formerly known as Vine Street) and Palmetto Street on the UTC campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJohn Proctor is the Villain\u201d centers on a group of modern-day high school students in rural Georgia who\u2014while studying Arthur Miller\u2019s \u201cThe Crucible\u201d\u2014navigate young love, sex ed and a few school scandals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Developed with support from the Farm Theater\u2019s College Collaboration Project, the play was designed with undergraduate productions in mind. As a result, it was already being staged on university campuses before making its way to professional theaters.<\/span><\/p>\n

After premiering at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 2022, the contemporary stage play gave its first preview at Broadway\u2019s Booth Theatre on March 20. The show\u2019s opening night is scheduled for April 14.<\/span><\/p>\n

Productions of the play have received critical acclaim, earning Best Ensemble and Outstanding Production of a Play at the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards as well as Best Ensemble and Outstanding Play at the 2024 Elliot Norton Awards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis play followed an unusual path to Broadway,\u201d Ray said. \u201cTypically, productions start in New York and then make their way to regional theaters and universities, but \u2018John Proctor is the Villain\u2019 built its reputation in regional theaters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rare that we get the chance to stage a play that is still running on Broadway. We secured the rights before it made its move to New York\u2014and now we have the exciting opportunity to bring it to Chattanooga audiences while it\u2019s still making waves in the theater world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The UTC Theatre Co. production is directed by Associate Professor Anne Swedberg, coordinator of UTC\u2019s acting concentration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always thought it was so cool that the play actually started its journey at the university and college level,\u201d Swedberg said. \u201cAs a script that was written to be of interest to undergraduate theatre departments, \u2018John Proctor is the Villain\u2019 contains great roles for undergraduate theatre students. Seven of the nine characters in the play are high school juniors\u2014which puts them within the age range of the UTC theatre students who are portraying them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve relied heavily on the minds and memories of the members of the cast, stage management team and assistant directors for their knowledge of \u2018all things high school in 2018,\u2019 including the music that the teenagers in the play are listening to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Added Ray, \u201cPlaywright Kimberly Belflower has crafted an incredibly thoughtful, nuanced piece that takes on a difficult subject with both artistry and depth. The characters are layered and real and the storytelling is compelling from start to finish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The cast is comprised of the following UTC students (academic year\/major\/hometown):<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n