Storytelling has always been a pillar of Southern Utah University. Whether through its historic theatre department, ties to the Utah Shakespeare Festival or the fresh film program, the school prioritizes providing students with opportunities to create.
One thread on campus that ties these multitude of stories together is costuming. More than just throwing a few clothes together, costuming is the curation of a character’s look. It controls the visual tone and narrative of a story, and is a discipline of performing arts taught diligently at SUU.
Matthew Pederson, an assistant professor in SUU’s Theatre, Dance and Arts Administration department, teaches the program’s costume design and technology courses. Though the discipline has a relatively small presence on campus, Pederson being the only official costuming professor, he has seen growth since he began teaching in the fall 2022 semester.
“My first year here we only had one student who was interested in designing costumes for a mainstage show,” Pederson said. “And now every year we get a stack of applicants of students that are eager to be in the costume shop.”
Costuming is an aspect of theatre that often gets overshadowed by its acting or writing counterparts. Pederson himself started undergrad as a theatre arts student hoping to be an opera singer, but after working with costuming designers on a college play, he knew that was what he wanted to do.
Because of how involved costume design students are in campus productions, the costuming at SUU will continue to grow with the theatre department, and more students will discover their passion the same way Pedersen did.
“My hope is that in 10 years or something this will be the place everybody knows if you’re an undergrad and you want to study costume design, that you should go to SUU,” he said. “And that eventually we’ll have so many students, they’ll have to hire another one of me.”
Despite the size of the program, SUU offers students who are interested in learning about costume design opportunities that are not possible at other undergraduate universities.
Spencer Smith, head of costume crafts at SUU’s costume shop, is a student who has reaped the benefits of costuming at this school. He and his two assistants are in charge of “the things that an actor wears that is not clothing.”
“Our most common projects are hats, shoes, belts, gloves and jewelry as well,” Smith said. “But on the fun projects, we get to make armor and helmets and really insane hats and leather pouches.”
Hidden underneath the auditorium building, the costume shop creates articles for SUU’s mainstage performances, though they can be borrowed by other entities like Second Studio — SUU’s student-run theatre company — as well as for student film projects. Students who work in the costume shop get their work shown in a variety of channels around campus, but its strong connection with the neighboring Utah Shakespeare Festival, opens doors beyond itself.
Smith, for example, worked as a costume crafts technician at USF this past season. He was able to be a part of shows such as “Taming of the Shrew” and “The 39 Steps,” where he collaborated with professionals in the field.
“Being able to work so closely to a regional theater, especially a Tony award-winning one, is really, really cool,” Smith expressed.
He mentioned that it was not only a great learning experience, but it established his name in his dream career field.
Pederson, who also works with USF alongside teaching, pointed out how SUU’s proximity to such great minds in theatre creates special opportunities for his students in their classes.
As an undergraduate costume design student, Pederson remembers taking a course where he got to make a corset using a method developed by Jeffrey Leider, who is the costume director at USF. Now when Pedersen teaches this method to his class, he is able to bring Leider from across the street to teach it himself, which is how Smith became acquainted with costuming at USF in the first place.
“While I was just reading his name on the book, they’re actually getting the lesson one-on-one with him,” Pederson said.
What sets SUU apart from other universities is its hands-on approach to learning.
“I love Matthew Pedersen, and he really believes in this sort of trial by fire way of getting the skills to be able to make these costumes in what mimics the speed of a professional costume shop,” Smith said.
Not only do students learn in a way that is applicable in the field, but they are also able to create a portfolio of work that is needed when searching for a job.
These programs at SUU give students experience in costume design; this is foundational for producing great stories in the entertainment industry at large.
“The most valuable things about a production are the actors,” Pedersen said. “And the first thing your audience looks at is them, and the clothes they are wearing and the makeup on their face and the way their hair is done.”
Pedersen mentioned that historically, costume designers are paid much less than other roles in the film industry, such as lighting technicians or scenic designers, despite their importance in the storytelling process. He drew a connection between the wages of costume designers and the typical demographic of workers.
“When you walk into a costume shop, the majority of who you see are women, minority workers and members of the LGBT community,” he added. “Women are still paid less across the board in almost every field.”
Despite their low pay, the looks created by costume designers bring so much revenue and attention to a movie or a play. It’s their work that inspires Halloween costumes and mass merchandise.
An example of this would be the titular character in Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice.” His hair, makeup and outfit, created by a team of talented makeup artists and costume designers, become virtually relevant enough to be a popular Halloween costume.
Things have been looking up recently as costume designers’ importance becomes more recognized. Just last year, the Costume Designers Guild lobbied for a pay raise that helped close the pay gap.
In the past, costume design is a piece of the storytelling process that has been overlooked, but is an essential part of the intricate quilt that is performance. As the years go by, it is becoming increasingly esteemed for the value it adds to a production on SUU’s campus and out in the world at large.
Author: Heather Turner
Editor: Kayd Johanson
Photos courtesy of Matthew Pederson
eic@suunews.net
This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue of the University Journal
