I had the pleasure of sitting down and interviewing the performing art department’s hair and makeup designer, AngelMarie Summers!
Name: AngelMarie Summers
Year: Sophomore
Major: Theatre and a minor in Sociology, Fine Arts, and Hellenic Studies
What’s your favorite time of day?
I like the late morning hours when the sun is still coming up, but the air is still chilled from last night’s happenings.
What’s your favorite movie/tv show?
My favorite movie is Alice Through the Looking Glass and my favorite tv show is Bones. Both have taught me a lot about life and how we function in our interpersonal relationships.
Where’s your favorite study spot?
I like to study on my bed because I like sitting crisscross applesauce and using pillows as arm rests. Outside of my room, I like studying in the theatre’s makeup room.
You work closely with the UP Performing Arts Department, what all do you do?
Within my role in the theatre department, I design makeup, hair, and wigs for shows, as well as applicate the makeup and hairstyles on the actors when necessary. My sophomore year, I have designed 4 shows (alone). Within my role as a makeup designer, I maintain the upkeep of our makeup room, take inventory, and organize the room for optimal efficiency. I have also functioned as Head of Wardrobe on a number of our shows, where I keep a master list of clothing, do laundry, and help actors during any necessary costume, hair, or makeup quick changes. Currently, I have created my own directed study for Stage Makeup and have collaboratively helped my professor teach 18 students this semester and plan to do so for the next 2 years. I have also been the hostess for a few potential students, as well as represented the performing arts department as their SLAC representative. When looking into the future, I will be designing my own wigs, and start costume designing in this fall.
How did you first get introduced into stage makeup and character design?
I was first introduced to this particular design world through my high school theatre program. Our teach taught us the basics of applying makeup, however, I was better equipped to help with the fashion makeup. Eventually, I took on the role of helping men and women apply stage makeup. I was cast into a few roles during my time there and worked on my character design processes, however, I had limited knowledge into what this really meant and how to apply character analysis to makeup design until I began studying under Gregory Pulver.
What was it like working on UP most recent production, Jesus Christ Superstar?
Intense. I was in charge of designing the hair and makeup for upwards of 70 individuals. This was the largest cast I have worked with, first to Mad Forest in the fall. So I had to come up with a way to expedite my design processes because we had so little time to produce this show since I was also a part of the design team for Iphigenia. I started off by reading the Libretto, then began interviewing all the actors, by that time I began extensive research on modern hairstyles, cuts, makeup styles, etc, in order to design individual characters. However, not only did I design, but I also taught the women how to do their hair and fashion makeup, and taught a number of the men how to apply their makeup according to the makeup charts I had drawn for them. I was there every night to work on a some of the actors. Needless to say, but this was the most time-consuming design processes I have been involved in, but I was quite happy with the end results.
What is the best and the hardest part of your work?
The hardest part of my job is that I do not have a team of people who are applying my designs on the actors. Other design positions, such as costume and set, have a team of students who are constructing the clothes or the set; whereas I am the only one working on my design processes, even with as large of a cast as Jesus Christ Superstar. So not only am I designing, but I’m teaching, applying, and a part of the dressers nearly every show. However, the best part of my work is designing my peers who are cast in multiple shows. For example, watching Riley Olson become Electra in Iphigenia was a starking contrast to her character in Jesus Christ Superstar when she played King Herod. It’s moments like these where I help actors evolve into strikingly different characters that really pays off the most.
Do you have any memorable moments working in theater?
My memorable moments in theatre include my time at the KCACT Festival. This is a time to present students’ work to others professors across the region and nation, to take classes from experienced professionals, to meet peers interested in your design processes because they are also interested in your design field and to experience theatre in a place other than our home here in Portland. I have learned a lot from the critique processes students engage in during this festival and I have become a better design because of it.