Alumni
Instructor & FIDM Grad Angela M. Eads Nominated for Costume Designer of the Decade
FIDM Grad and Faculty Member Angela M. Eads has been nominated for Costume Designer of The Decade in the BroadwayWorld's Regional Awards for her work on Lost in Yonkers. Angela has been the resident designer at Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood since 2011. She has two degrees from FIDM (Fashion Design, ‘05, and Film & TV Costume Design, ‘07) and has been teaching Costume Supervision, Studio Design II, and Production Practicum at FIDM for the last three years. Open to the public, voting runs through December 31 and winners will be announced in January. We caught up with Angela to learn more.
Tell us about your designs for which you were nominated? The show is Lost in Yonkers, directed by Larry Eisenberg and presented by The Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood. I have been the resident designer there since 2011. I was actually brought to the theatre by my fellow FIDM faculty member, Doug Haverty who writes wonderful plays. The story takes place in 1940’s New York. In the beginning, everything is bleak, gritty, and austere. It’s the beginning of the war, two boys have just lost their mom and Dad is dumping them off at grandma’s while he travels for work. Lots of browns and greys—a general sense of uncertainty because of this foreboding steel like grandma. As the play progresses and the walls start to crumble and conflicts come to ahead, I start to bring out lighter colors and bolder patterns to show the shifts in emotions. I was inspired by 1940’s, magazines like Life, that would show the realities of living through wartime, and by Norman Rockwell paintings which is a very idealized unattainable life that we all want. Right there in the middle is where I wanted my character to be. Striving for this perfection but falling just short and realizing all they really need was right in front of them.
How does it feel to be nominated? A mixture of shock and gratitude! I never go into a show thinking about the accolades, I just focus on what can bring to the table to better serve this story. Later on, it’s like, “Oh yeah that did come out great!”
What classes do you teach at FIDM: I teach three classes in the Film & Television Costume Design program: Costume Supervision in the fall, Studio Design II in the winter, and Production Practicum. It’s important to me that I am with the students all through the program. I feel that as a graduate of this same program, I am in a unique position to help guide them, and at the end of the day I am their first ally in this business.
Jacqueline Saint Anne became the Director of FIDM’s Film & TV Costume Design Program after you graduated. Did you know her before you started teaching at FIDM? [Jacqueline is an Emmy Award winning costume designer and former President of the Costume Designers Guild.] Neither one of us realized it when I got hired, but we met in 2008. I was hired to help backstage on a production of Summer in Smoke at USC, which was designed by Jacqueline. It was only on for a few days but I do remember being very impressed and inspired by her work, which is just stunning by the way.
What do you love about costume design? It’s the place where I found my voice. It allows me to tell beautiful stories in my own way. Every show I’ve ever done has a part of me in it.
Anything else you'd like to share? I want to thank Larry Eisenberg. He is an incredible director, generous and giving but unwavering in his passion for theatre. I don’t think I would have gotten as far without his support.
BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City that publishes daily coverage of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theatre productions. Cast your vote for Costume Designer of the Decade at broadwayworld.com.
Categories: Fashion Design Film & TV Costume Design Alumni
