Yippee!

So before I get to the reason behind the Yippee title, I wanted to talk about what I did today. So I woke up and watched my 3 episodes of The Nanny to wake me up and then packed myself into the car and drove down to the theater to do some more costuming. Well I opened the door to send Jeremy off to work and found snow covered trees, steps, and banisters. So I was hesitant to leave, due to the lack of driving in this weather here. The problem with the snow here is that it usually starts as rain, then freezes and becomes snow. So there is that layer of ice underneath. But after a few adjustments driving in the parking lot, I made it out. I had to make a couple stops (gas, and parking money) then I was out on the road towards downtown. The roads were fine but the sprinkling became snow as I made it to downtown. I found my way easier and made it to the theater by 11 a.m. No one was in the costume shop however, so I waited, and waited, and waited, and just when I thought about waiting five minutes and then leaving, the two costumers showed up. So we set to work.

Today I sewed on 5 buttons to a bodice top. Also, I learn two more hand stitching techniques. The first is a slip stitch. Which is simple and I caught on quickly while sewing some trim on a dress. The second is a back slip stitch ( I think that is what it was called) which is a combination of the previous two stitches. The costumer was using it to stitch on lace trim on a dress. So after a while the same costumer switched with me and I began seam ripping out some Velcro and zig-zag stitching from a bodice top and a removed pocket from something (maybe a skirt?) We used the pocket as a two inch strip in between the front side pieces. It was a clever trick. Then we added 5 buttons to either side and poof! a new bodice that fits the actress. I learned to fasten buttons and hooks down to use 4-ply thread (two pieces of thread through the needle and tied together) to make a more stable and stronger hold.

Lastly, I got to meet two people from the cast and crew. First and coolest was the star, Chiara, she plays Anne in the play. What's really cool is that I've seen her before. She introduces the Masterpiece Classic specials that are running right now on the complete works of Jane Austin on PBS. So that is cool, she loved trying on the clothes, even those that weren't done. The second person I met was the Technical Director Larry. He had come in to ask if anyone responded to the notice about needing stitchers, and I was there! So that was neat. Overall it was a good day. One more day with them tomorrow.

This brings me to my news! I GOT THE ART INSTRUCTOR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be starting training tomorrow, 9 - Noon. So I am going to be teaching kids to draw. I am so excited.

In other job related news I found another last minute ad for working on a current production. This one is an Assistant Stage Management position helping preset the stage for the show, change sets during intermission and help with costume changes. They only need me on Thursdays from January 31st through February 21th from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. It's for Seattle Public Theater. I just have to see if I can work both the Art Studio and this ASM job. It's another option for getting my name known by some people in the business...

So that's my good news. Yay!

Today's adventure

Today I took an adventure all by myself. I called a theater about an ad they placed in an online resource for volunteer stitching help for their up and coming production of Persuasion by Jane Austin. Well I wasn't sure how much experience they wanted but I'm free and could use the connections working backstage. So I called the number and the girl I talked to was like, Yes we need as much help as you can give. It turns out there are just two of them working on the costumes and they are just running out of time with the alterations they need to finish.

So today I ventured out with my trusty Google Maps print out on the seat next to me and some juice and soft foods to eat if I got hungry. Well it turns out that this theater is in downtown Seattle, specifically right around the Space needle. As I drove down there I was getting closer and closer to it, and I snapped a picture with my phone (I'll upload that later). I parked and walked to the theater and called the one girl to navigate me into the costume shop. I worked from 11 am to 4 pm. I made 5 cravats (men's scarves), put ruffles on 2 shirts, reshaped the collar on two men's shirts, and hemmed up a dress 4 inches. The one girl asked if I wanted to learn Millinery (hat making) so I am going to set a time to go her apartment and learn that from her.

I learned a few tricks and heard tips on starting out in the business from Dean the costume designer (she has 30 years experience in the business). I learn the new hemming stitch called the cross-hand stitch. I also learned that if you want to change color on your machine, instead of having to re-thread the whole thing, snip the thread close to the stool and then tie a square knot with the new thread to the old thread and then run the machine through until the thread either gets close to the needle hole or runs through it. I thought that was a very clever trick. Another thing she mentioned was if the bobbin loads from the front or the back the needle hole will be in the front, if the bobbin loads from the side, the needle hole will be on the side.

I have a long way to go for learning things, but I am getting there, and that's exciting. So I made it all the way downtown and all the way back on my own in the big city. I was pretty proud. I am going back to the costume shop on Monday and Tuesday to help where I can and gain as much information as I can.