UA News

After making her own clothes for years, Morrison now dresses actors in the Arizona Repertory Theatre.

Name: Susan Morrison
Position: Costume shop supervisor, School of Theatre Arts
Number of years at the UA: 5
Favorite part of working at the UA: Working with students

 

If you've ever attended an Arizona Repertory Theatre performance, you may have marveled at the eye-catching costumes worn by the student actors onstage. But have you ever stopped to wonder where they got their garb?

Many of their garments are created from scratch in the theater's basement costume shop, where designers, stitchers and student workers transform swatches of fabric into wearable works of art throughout the year.

A key player in making them is Susan Morrison, the School of Theatre Arts' costume shop supervisor. Morrison first came to The University of Arizona as a guest artist in 2004, making costumes for ART's production of "Hamlet." She and her colleagues are currently working on ART's summer show "Rum & Coke," a comedy about the Bay of Pigs, which begins with a preview performance June 14.

Morrison recently took time out from her work on military uniforms and CIA suits to talk to Lo Que Pasa about one of the many behind-the-scenes aspects of the theater.

What were doing before you came to the UA?
I freelanced as a draper/tailor in different places all over the country. I did opera, did three films, did some print. I wanted to learn and be the best and I wanted to work with different people so I just moved around. I had a 2001 Jetta, and I used to just pack everything in there and go from place to place. They provide housing and travel, and I would go and work, so I learned a lot of tailoring from different people.

How did you get your start in this business?
I've sewed since I was in the third grade but, ironically, when I was in college (at Indiana University) I wanted to be a director. I even did a stage management internship at Center Stage (a theater in Baltimore) in my senior year. But every time I would do a show, something would happen to the costume person, and I'd end up doing them – sewing them or working on them. And then when I graduated, after I did the internship at Center Stage, the costume shop manager called me and said, "Do you want to come stitch for us?" So that's how I began.

Where did you learn to sew?
My mom sewed some. But I did 4-H. I had culottes in the fair, silly stuff like that. And I always tell my students that I grew up full-figured. I was always a tall, full-figured girl and I never wanted to wear old lady clothes. I didn't want to adhere to what they were making people in our size wear, so I would just make them so they would look and fit the way I wanted them to.

What's your favorite thing to make?
I love doing menswear. That's my forte. I love doing 17th, 18th century; I've done a lot of breeches and coats and there's a lot of embellishment on them. I also love the '30s and '40s. I like that style on men in general.

What's the craziest costume you've made?
One time I had to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for two people – one person was peanut butter, one was jelly and they had to be together as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That was weird. 

What do you like best about your job?
I love the students. I love working with young people and trying to be a model in attitude, professionalism and just the way you live. I'm just very young at heart and I really dig it. It keeps me young.

What do costumes add to a show?
It defines time, place, the character. It's really, I think, one of the most important aspects. I used to tell people: When you get up in the morning, one of the first things you decide is "What am I going to wear?"

What's it like for you to see your finished pieces onstage?
I'm usually very proud, especially if the actor knows how to wear their clothes. When you give them to the right actor, it's awesome, because they know how to use the costume to their benefit.

Did you play a lot of dress-up as a kid?
No, not at all. But my cousin and I used to do fashion shows. I would be the emcee and the neighborhood kids would go up and down the runway. I was always full-figured so I wasn't really the model type, but I had all my friends that were. So I would be commenting on their clothes as they would walk the runway.

If you had to wear one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?
I just want something comfortable. I'm at that age; I'm going to be 50. When I was in college, right out of college, I used to go clubbing a lot. I made my own clothes at the time – I was kind of punk. But now I'm more laid back. Since I've been living here, the less clothes the better. Just jeans or pants and a tank top and that's it.