Once a stay at home mom, Ruth Fulwiler saw her life get busier when she was handed a job for costume designing at her daughter’s high school in Wisconsin. Now in Juneau, with her daughter long since graduated, she has kept designing.
Most recently, she completed over 60 costumes, from Greek inspired gowns to clown costumes for the Summer Theatre Arts Rendezvous (STAR), Perseverance Theatre’s five-week youth acting program’s theatrical productions.
The Empire met up with Fulwiler recently to discuss her work with the STAR’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain,” which happened on July 29, and Sophocles’ play “Antigone” on July 30, to get a glimpse of what it’s like to make so many costumes.
At Fulwiler’s home, which sits upon a hill in Douglas swarming in flowers of every color, she described how she lived in Wisconsin prior to Juneau, and how a small costume job quickly turned into her life.
She moved to Juneau for her grandchildren, and she continued designing costumes, this time for theater at Floyd Dryden Middle School. Her talent and hard work was soon recognized and she got offered costume-designing work at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, and a class her daughter taught at the Embassy school in Moscow for a Renaissance fair, which took a great deal of research; even Perseverance Theater has used her skills in numerous plays, such as “Shakespeare Stars,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Antigone.”
After showing off a hand-stitched quilt with large flowers and a black beaded dress on a mannequin, Fulwiler showed pictures of her costumes from “Oliver,” a production by Floyd Dryden, and “Singin’ in the Rain.”
The “Singin’ in the Rain” costumes were fun to make because they were clown costumes, said Fulwiler; she was allowed to be creative with the costumes, and they did not have to be perfect.
“I like creating stuff and figuring out how to do a whole chorus of something!” Fulwiler said with a growing smile. The smile stayed on her face as she described working with the talented kids she made costumes for.
Last spring she helped children from Perseverance Theater design their own costumes for the “Shakespeare Stars.” Donnie Gott, a local director for Perseverance, said her daughter Maize was too young to perform in a STAR production but Fulwiler let her knit some costumes and help measure the other kids. Gott added that “Ruth was very generous to Maize.”
Gott said that in some productions people can be reluctant to work costuming kids, especially 20 to 40 kids, but Fulwiler handled it calmly and gracefully.
The costume designing life is not all that glamorous.
“The best part is designing. The worst part is sometimes you get a flop,” Fulwiler commented in regards to some costumes that did not work out. She told a story about how she made a dress for one of the leads in “Singin’ in the Rain” and it did not work for the actress, so she stayed up late making a new dress.
Gott has been working with Fulwiler for the past two years. Fulwiler worked with her last year for the “Shakespeare Stars” mashup and again this year for “Antigone.” At the cast party for “Antigone” at Perseverance Theatre, Gott said Fulwiler is knowledgeable and she gets the job done on time. “From what I’ve heard, she’s kind of a big deal.”
Gott’s personal favorite of Fulwiler’s work was from “Antigone,” and was Eurydice’s gold dress worn by Tsifira Kiehl.
. She showed the dress backstage — it was all gold, with a slippery-shiny fabric and a gold circle headdress.
“Antigone’s costume is lovely as well, Ismene’s costume is great and all of her costumes are great!” she said.
The costumes from “Antigone” were all hung up and gleamed a variety of different rich, royal colors such as blues, purples and golds. The costumes from “Singin’ in the Rain” contrasted the Greek gowns with bright red and white polka dots and hobo caps.
After showing off the costumes, Gott said Fulwiler’s job is “not a job for the weak of heart!”
Fulwiler said she hopes to continue making costumes for a long time. If someone was to ask her why she sticks with costume designing she would simply say, “Because it’s fun!”
• Freelancer Shannon Mason can be reached at shannonreedmason@gmail.com.
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