Theatrics surround life of a costume designer

When the curtain goes up Tuesday on Lyric Theatre's production of the musical "Swing!,” costume designer Jeffrey Meek will breathe a big sigh of relief. During the past few weeks, Meek and his staff of 13 have created 150 costumes for this musical celebration of the 1940s swing dance craze.

"Our time frame is frightening,” Meek said recently. "The amount of work that has to be done is huge. Some people don't realize that we make all these costumes. They all start out as (bolts of) fabric from Hancock's. There's a lot of blood, sweat and tears in these costumes.”

Before coming to Lyric in 2000, Meek spent nine years as costume designer for Ohio Light Opera. While there, he created costumes for 13 of the 14 operettas written by Gilbert and Sullivan, each of which calls for a very large cast. Moreover, the costume demands are extensive, many requiring considerable detail.

Currently in his ninth season as Lyric's costume designer, Meek has seen (and designed costumes for) it all: Roman togas for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” poodle skirts and leather wear for "Grease,” biblical splendor for "Jesus Christ Superstar” and 1907 Western costumes for "Oklahoma!”

Meek's interest in costume design began at an early age. Playing with construction paper instilled in him an eye for color, while pieces of fabric afforded him the opportunity to explore textures. By the time he became a student at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, Meek realized a career in theater would fulfill his creative yearnings.

"Anything that dealt with theater or fine arts I saw as variations on creativity,” Meek said. "If there was a door open, I jumped in. I did everything from painting scenery to locating props. In the costume shop, you're creating a character through fabric and buttons and feathers. The more creative the project, the more I enjoyed it.”

Meek transferred in 1993 to Oklahoma City University, where he worked with Billie Boston, a long-time professor of costume design. After graduating in 1995, he took a job at Ohio Light Opera, a cultural and educational program that is part of The College of Wooster. Meek eventually returned to OCU as a graduate student and completed his master's degree there in 1997.

Meek's work at Lyric is rarely routine. The shows' costume requirements vary in terms of period and setting, affording him an ever-changing opportunity to explore new techniques while further honing his craft. A typical Lyric season, which features four musicals, allows Meek to revisit musical theater classics and to create costumes for new shows.

"New theater is always fun,” Meek said, adding that the creative process is a collaborative one. "The director is there for a reason. I usually have some sort of raw concept after reading a show, but the final product is really the director's decision. I've learned that if I fight it, it will usually come back to haunt me. My work becomes better when other people influence it.”

One of the most obvious influences on costuming is stage lighting. Fabrics can look considerably different under artificial stage lighting than they do in natural light. A costumer's color palette can change dramatically depending on the lighting sequences created by the show's lighting designer.

"Stage lighting can be my best friend or my worst enemy,” Meek said. "The last time Lyric did ‘The Sound of Music,' I built the costumes for the nuns. In natural light, the black habits looked great. But under stage lighting, those made of polyester turned a deep, dark red while the cottons turned brown. It looked like they were wearing mismatched habits.”

During his 18-year career, Meek has figured out how to gauge how much time he'll need to build costumes for a specific show. It's a process that requires lots of discussions, planning and careful execution. Having fabric on the shelf long before it's needed is far better than scrambling to find the right fabric at the last minute.

"I have learned that I can't rush the process,” Meek said. "But there are times when something simply won't come to me. If I put it off or try to cram it in at the end, it's often the one outfit that doesn't work or the only scene that doesn't gel. I try not to procrastinate; it doesn't work and it stresses everybody, too.”

Later this summer, Meek will create costumes for Lyric's first production of the musical "Urinetown.” A three-time Tony Award-winner in 2002, "Urinetown” is set in a futuristic society where severe water shortages force citizens to pay to use public restrooms. For Meek, it's an opportunity to create something from scratch.

"Any new show like ‘Urinetown' is like a blank slate,” Meek said. "Whatever concept the director and I come up with will result in a canvas that people are going to remember. We have a responsibility to create something that remains true to the original concept, but a show like ‘Urinetown' also allows you to take some risks. That's the fun of what we do.”