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Students tailor the clothes of drama
By DONNA WINCHESTER, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- Sewing machines whirred above the patter of young voices last week as students in Trish Kelley's sixth-period costume design class raced to beat the clock. Twiggy Nicely, 16, stitched orange satin bows edged in chartreuse to a voluminous violet skirt that blossomed under an embroidered taffeta bodice with periwinkle organza sleeves. Sixteen-year-old Emily Smith fed yards of billowing white satin through a sewing machine to make the skirt for a wedding gown, while Brian Schrader, 16, finished waistband edges he eventually attached to a pair of brown wool pants. The three classmates have been working behind the scenes since February, along with 42 students from Kelley's five other classes, to create the costumes for an adaptation of Les Miserables. The ambitious production will be staged Friday at the Mahaffey Theater by dance, music, technical theater and theater performance majors from the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School, 850 34th St. S. Before the curtain rises at 8 p.m., Kelley's students will have created six authentic mid 19th century ball gowns, a century wedding dress, four military uniforms, five vests, 10 empire-style gowns, 16 aprons, 18 prison guard uniforms, 30 sashes, and more than 40 hats, caps and bonnets. "Some of the ball gowns are still not quite where they need to be, but they are okay enough to get on stage," said Kelley, who estimates she has spent about 120 hours working with the students in the past two weeks. "We're down to hems and buttons and snaps." That's an incredible accomplishment, she added, given the fact that many of her students became familiar with a needle and thread only recently. Erica Goldman, 14, who painstakingly hand-stitched a "grungy" muslin peasant costume last week, said she didn't know how to use a sewing machine before she took Kelley's introductory stagecraft class. In 12 short weeks, she said, she has begun to feel talented. Before they cut the first piece of fabric, the students watched a video of Les Miserables. Next, they researched period costumes on the Internet and in books. They created patterns directly from the books for some of the costumes and adapted commercially available patterns for others. They made thumbnail sketches of their designs, converted them to watercolor renderings, and specified fabrics and colors that were period appropriate for the outfits. By the time technical theater major Mandy Sanz took scissors to the luxurious cream-colored linen fabric with pale yellow organza roses she used to make one of the ball gowns, she felt confident, even though she is a relatively inexperienced seamstress. "You go step by step," the 15-year-old said, acknowledging that she had no idea clothes were so complicated until she started sewing. If she can get kids excited about costume design and construction, the long hours that go into mounting a show such as Les Miserables are worth it, Kelley said, because the experience teaches them about more than sewing. "We use fractions and geometry. We learn costume history. Sometimes we even use chemistry when we dye fabrics." But perhaps more important, she said, the students learn teamwork, which in the long run, makes them better students and better citizens. If you go Students from the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School will present Les Miserables at 8 p.m. Friday at the Mahaffey Theater. Selected works from students in the visual arts department will be on display in the lobby beginning at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available at the door, $10 for students, $20 for adults.
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