Lights Rise on…Ivania Stack
Ivania Stack is a Woolly Mammoth Company Member and the costume designer for Lights Rise on Grace. We spoke with Ivania recently about costume design, her journey as an artist, and why Woolly isn’t a “just bring the costumes” kind of theatre. This interview originally appeared in our Cherokee playbill.
Can you talk about your background as a costume designer?
My family is from Costa Rica, and my grandmother was a seamstress there for many years. Whenever I would stay with her in the summer, she would teach me things. I think a lot was ingrained in me early on. I started costume designing in high school — there was a sign-up sheet for The Sound of Music. When you think “high school musical” you think it will be pretty tame, but everyone wanted to be involved with the play. There were like 60 nuns (laughs). I remember researching the nuns habits, and putting together little assembly packets and sending them home to the parents: “you buy this fabric, you buy this pattern” etc. And then there are the seven kids, with seven costume changes…it was trial by fire.
As I started college at George Mason, I thought “I probably won’t keep doing this theatre thing.” But I did! I started right off the bat working wardrobe, and actually had a few professional design gigs while I was an undergrad. We didn’t have a graduate program, so the undergrads could really do whatever they wanted. I was in way over my head, but you learn as you go.
What was your first Woolly show?
One of my first professional jobs was assisting my George Mason professor Howard Kurtz on a Woolly Mammoth play: The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi (1999). My first show as costume designer was Boom (2008).
What was your first impression of Woolly?
Before Boom I had assisted Helen Huang with a few projects at Woolly — I remember the feeling of upbeat, young, cool energy. These people were awesome! The plays, like Current Nobody (2007) and Measure for Pleasure (2008) were completely captivating. I was so proud to take family to the shows, to be able to say “I worked on these.”
What really cemented it all for me, as a graduate student from the University of Maryland, watching a preview with Helen and thinking I should just sit and take notes, was having Howard come up and ask me “so what do you think of the play?” The artistic director doesn’t even know me and he just asked me about the play! And he cares, and he’s listening. And that’s what it’s like at Woolly as an audience member — you’re asked for your opinion, you’re asked to be involved, to talk about the show. You’re part of the art making.
At other places, as a costume designer, you’re so often isolated to your area. It’s usually “just bring the costumes!” But because of early experiences at Woolly, I’ve felt empowered to really give my opinion about shows. It’s made working in theater a lot more rewarding, and it’s had a big impact on me.
The last show you designed for at Woolly was Detroit. Can you tell us about that?
In Detroit, the characters could so easily become stereotypes if clothed inappropriately — but at the same time, a little bit of storytelling needed to be done with the clothes. Putting Gabby Fernandez-Coffey’s character in these little cheetah bootie shorts really tells you who she is, but does it tell you too much? It’s a question of how to balance that — as a costume designer, I’ve found it’s best to just go for it, and then let the show pull you back in if it’s too strong. It was about making specific choices so they felt like real people, but when there’s comedy involved it’s tricky — you never want to play too hard to the comedy. It’s so easy to over-exaggerate. Between the two is a grey area of more interesting choices.
What’s next on tap for you at Woolly?
Lights Rise On Grace, which I’m very excited about! The costume storytelling needs to be subtle for Grace. It’s about letting the actors tell the story, which is beautiful.
If you could design costumes in the style of any era or cultural moment, what would that be?
I’ve always loved (the novel) 100 Years of Solitude. It would be great to do a stage adaptation of it.
Maybe Woolly can do that in an upcoming season!
Sounds great! Let’s set it in a zombie apocalypse!
Ivania Stack (Costume Design) is proud to be a Woolly Mammoth Company member, where has designed several productions including: Boom, Full Circle, Bright New Boise, Detroit, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (co-design w/ Misha Kachman), and Oedipus El Rey (associate design). Ivania also designs at several DC and Baltimore theatres including: Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, The Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Round House Theatre, Olney Theatre Center (Associate Artist), Studio Theatre, Theater J, Synetic Theatre, Forum Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Theatre Alliance, Metro Stage, and Gala Hispanic Theatre.
