IU students will have the opportunity to see the faces of “Dancing at Lughnasa” at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre, but for those who work behind the scenes, audiences will also see the result of their hard work and creative processes.
“Dancing at Lughnasa” is one of two thesis productions for technical director Jeff Baldwin and Lani Tortoriello, who is the show’s draper, a position that brings the costume designer’s ideas to life through researching and working with different fabrics and materials.
“I focused a little more on historical accuracy,” Tortoriello said. “‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ is a memory play. It can only be set in one time, in one place. It has to be in the 1930s. It has to be in Donegal, Ireland. There are some specifics that you have to keep to.”
The story is centered around five Irish sisters and told through the memories of one of their sons. The play shows how the relationships between the sisters develop despite poverty and hardship.
The two masters students will compile their experiences in their respective jobs to write individual thesis papers. While Baldwin said his thesis is based on personal experience, Tortoriello said hers will focus more on research.
“I have to keep a little more track of the daily issues. That way, when I go to compile my thesis at the very end, I‘ll combine all that together,” Baldwin said.
Both Tortoriello and Baldwin said they researched materials for the set and costumes in order to maximize the effect their movements have on stage.
“Making sure we fit in a lot of things that were specifically 1930s that specifically brought it into that world was a little bit different from a lot of other shows I’ve done where you’re a little more relaxed,” Tortoriello said.
Both Baldwin and Tortoriello studied theater for their undergraduate degrees. They said aspects of what they learned throughout those years helped develop the way they approach their work today.
“I started dancing in ballet when I was very young, maybe four or five, and was in theatrical productions all the way up until I was about 11,” said Tortoriello. “I take from that the knowledge of how people feel on stage. That helps me figure out what kind of movements people are going to need and get them a costume.”
Both Tortoriello and Baldwin said they faced challenges with complex aspects of the set and costumes but ultimately found the challenges were the reasons they enjoyed the work they did.
“I always had that drive of being backstage and problem solving and building, but when you get into the program, you realize there is so much more to this that you didn’t understand,” Baldwin said. ” I thought, ‘You know, this is pretty cool.’”
