HEAVEN’S PADDING

WRITTEN BY IZZY D’ALO | DESIGNED BY BONNIE ZHANG | PHOTOGRAPHED BY GILLIAN FASKI

On the second floor of the Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art lies the hub where graduate students learn costume production and the secret PlayMakers Repertory Company’s costumes.

The inimitable Triffin Morris, veteran costume producer and head of the Costume Production program at UNC-Chapel Hill, guides the students in their work.

During her second year of graduate school, Morris found her way to a costume shop in New York during the fall, when there is a rush of shows in the city before the Winter season begins. Once she was there, she felt like she’d “finally come home.” Once she went back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to finish her graduate program, she moved back to New York and began working as a draper for a premier costume shop, eventually becoming the top in her field.

“I watched my work drive by on the side of a bus,” Morris said. The costume production doyenne has produced costumes for Tonyaward-winning shows, such as “Wicked,” where her shop worked on all the costumes for Emerald City.

“The designer, Susan Hillfredy, told us that what she was doing was taking center-front, and tipping it 45 degrees,” making nothing symmetrical, Morris said. Morris described it as a “brain twister” with a lot of collaboration. “It was really challenging and interesting work, and I was really proud of my work in it. And then it won a Tony, and then it sent me around the world,” Morris said.

Her specialty is padding.

Morris made the padding that goes under the Hagrid costume for Harry Potter on Broadway, created all of the body padding for “Shrek,” contributed work on “Matilda,” and assisted in helping the Rockettes for their Christmas Spectacular.

What many people don’t realize is that Broadway needs “rebuilds regularly,” more so for shows that run a long time, such as “Wicked” which has been running for twenty years. Every time a new actor or dancer is cast, a show must have a technician to create new costumes for them.

For example, with the Rockettes, if a new dancer arrives or a new number is introduced, their costumes will be produced by the original shop who made the costumes, Morris said.

“But in the meantime, there are 69 other Rockette costumes being worn by the same people that wore it last year, so those costumes need to be refurbished. This work happens by the shops who gather in the summer, and who work through about October,” she added.

She talked about the Santa number, performed by the Rockettes, where she developed a new interior to keep the Santa stomachs full and round, but so they could also keep their shape as they moved.

Four years ago, she started her career here at UNC. She likes to teach students how to be costume technicians, rather than designers, making the distinction clear to her students.

Costume designers draw pictures and collaborate with the director, choose fabrics, and create the concept. Once that is done, they give this to the costume technician, or draper, who will create the piece. Technicians work year-round, while costume designers are usually

GRADUATE STUDENT MATTY BLATT WORKS ON ALTERATIONS FOR COSTUMES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF “A WRINKLE OF TIME.”

GRADUATE ALEX HAGMAN WORKS ON ALTERATIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF “A WRINKLE IN TIME.”

UNC’S DEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ART IS PARTNERED WITH PLAYMAKERS REPERTORY COMPANY SO STUDENTS CAN CREATE COSTUMES FOR UPCOMING THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS.

needed up until the show opens, Morris said.

“From this position, I can really do something about diversity. And I can do something about expectations about what our work hours will be, and what our wages will be, and I can graduate people who are very well qualified, and who do excellent work, but who will also expect to get paid and treated well,” Morris said. “I can really change the industry.”

She describes the industry as what was once “grandma’s work” and is excited that the profession is getting the recognition and respect she feels it deserves.

The graduate program at UNC gives students the privilege to design and create their own costume pieces that they can add to their portfolio, while also giving students the chance to create garments for theatrical productions, such as PlayMakers.

“I’m trying to give my students a big toolbox and to have a variety of techniques at their disposal. To be flexible of mind,” Morris said.

During the early stages of the pandemic, Morris described the challenges their department faced, as sewing is a tactile skill, and said that the chair of the department was able to “persuade the university that our costume shop is our laboratory.” The university approved the request, and while limited numbers of students were allowed at the same time, they did have the hands-on opportunity to continue to grow in their skills.

In the morning, they are a graduate program, but in the afternoon, they are PlayMakers’ Costume Shop. Currently, they’re working on the costumes for “A Wrinkle in Time.”

Morris said the costume industry is not for everyone, but that it’s perfect for people who always want to create. What she looks for in prospective students is that they know they want to be costume technicians. A sense of certainty.

“Be sure this is what heaven looks like,” Morris said.

LEAF ARMOR, CREATED BY GRADUATE STUDENT EMMA HOYLST, AS A PART OF HER FINAL PROJECT FOR HER COSTUME DESIGN CLASS.

IN THE COSTUME PRODUCTION PROGRAM, HEAD OF PROGRAM TRIFFIN MORRIS TEACHES STUDENTS TO BE COSTUME TECHNICIANS INSTEAD OF COSTUME DESIGNERS. TECHNICIANS, OR DRAPERS, CREATE THE PHYSICAL GARMENT WHILE DESIGNERS CONCEPTUALIZE.