Costuming for Bright Star
Make it Sparkle Video with Richard Frazier
Theatre Director and Teacher
3:27 (runtime)
Director’s Notes
In the video titled "Costuming for Bright Star,” Theatre Director and Teacher Richard Frazier provides a detailed overview of the process involved in costuming for characters across varying time periods. Focusing on the nuances and research that go into the creation of a costume, he discusses the importance of accurately representing character age, development, and the era—especially through a woman’s wardrobe.
Richard outlines the extensive research that the costumer undergoes to accurately represent each character’s age, personality, and the specific time period. He focuses on the character Alice, who ages from around 14 to 40 in the musical "Bright Star."
He explains that women's costumes, especially variations in hem lengths and dress styles, are pivotal in distinguishing both age and time period, as women’s clothing has seen more significant changes throughout history compared to men’s.
For men, Richard mentions the relatively simpler combinations of pants, shirts, suspenders, jackets, ties, and hats, with the focus mainly on whether characters would wear certain items in specific situations.
Richard emphasizes the visible transformation of characters, especially Alice, right before the audience’s eyes, noting that even simple changes like adding a jacket or altering hair can depict a shift in age and experience.
About Richard Frazier
Richard began his journey with Theatre Macon in 2011 as the choreographer for The Rocky Horror Show. Since then, he has gone on to choreograph and direct a number of Theatre Macon hits to include Les Misérables, 42nd Street, and Beauty and the Beast before being hired as Artistic Director in August 2018. Richard is a graduate of Columbus State University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Theatre Education. After graduation, he was hired at Northside High School in Warner Robins, Georgia, where he served as the Theatre and Dance teacher for 7 years. Currently, he serves on the Georgia Thespians State Board which encourages and supports the manifestation of theatre education in middle and high schools in Georgia. Richard has also served on the Board of Directors for the Educational Theatre Association; a non-profit organization which celebrates, advocates, and promotes middle and high school theatre education nationwide. In his career, Richard has worked on more than 100 productions spanning many disciplines within the theatre and is looking forward to working on another 100 with Theatre Macon.