When theatre arts assistant professor Noelle Raffy was a senior studying fashion at Otis College of Art and Design, she came to a realization. She didnโt want to design for a consumer, but for a character.
โI realized I wanted to develop a story and a character in any time period. So I worked for a gap year, a year outside of school, and then I went back and got my masterโs in costume design at Carnegie Mellon University,โ Raffy said.
Since then, she has worked in film, television and theater from London to California. For the past six years she has taught costume construction lab, theater makeup lab, advanced costume design and advanced makeup design at California Lutheran University. She also manages the campus costume studio, designs Cal Lutheran shows and works on outside projects.
โI will create a character without them even opening their mouth. When somebody walks on stage you already have an idea of who they are by the way they look. Youโve already made up your mind,โ Raffy said.
Raffy has spent her entire life living and breathing theater. Growing up with both parents as ballet dancers, she spent her childhood backstage while on tour.
Raffy especially enjoys designing period pieces, particularly from the 1700s, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, which she likes to study and research. Raffy said she also enjoys โthe fantasy pieces where you can combine modern clothes with historical clothing.โ
Putting together a costume is no simple process, and involves designing, creating and altering. Typically, creating a costume will take up to a week; however this varies based on the different components of the piece.
โI think itโs a really fun process. Thereโs no boundaries in costume- you can make them look like whatever you want and itโs really fun figuring out ways to make that work,โ said junior Jordan Erickson, a theatre arts department assistant.
Erickson met Raffy as a first-year and found a love for creating costumes through his costume construction lab.ย
Some costumes must be created from scratch, like the cardboard monsters Erickson made for last semesterโs production โShe Kills Monsters.โ Other times, pieces are ordered from Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles costume shops.
โIf you really want to be backstage and in costume, itโs 100 percent dedication to it; you canโt do it halfway,โ said Kim Foster, costume shop manager and adjunct professor. โItโs literally like it wants your blood. Itโs just constant you know…Itโs rare that youโre not doing two shows at a time or thinking about the next one.โ
Foster got involved with costume design when her 10-year-old daughter decided she wanted to do theater. One day, she helped backstage safety pinning goblins, and since then she has not stopped working in local theaters in and around Thousand Oaks.
Costume design is not just about the outfits characters wear; it also includes accessories, hair and makeup and even socks.
โItโs a collaborative process for the most part. It will initially be my visionโฆand it will sort of morph into all of the other departments chiming in and helping, including the lighting department. You need to make sure all of those visual elements create a good picture,โ Raffy said.
Raffy also loves to travel, and being a costume designer means there is often opportunity to do so. Each city has its own style, Raffy said. Paris is her favorite place to visit, partly because her father is French and she visits every summer to see family, but London comes in second.
Currently, Raffy and her team are working on Cal Lutheranโs spring musical, โThe Pirate Queen,โ which opens at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on April 11, as well as working on โMatilda The Musicalโ at the Plaza March 22-31.
Rosie Baker
Reporter