ABSTRACT 
 
 
 
 
Title of Document: A COSTUME DESIGN FOR JOHN PATRICK 
SHANLEY'S SAVAE IN LIMB 
  
 Yvete Marie Ryan, 
Master of Fine Arts, 2006 
  
Directed By: Profesor Heln Q. Huang,  
Department of Theatre 
 
 
The purpose of this thesis is to document the artistic proces of the costume design 
for John Patrick Shanley's Savage in Limbo, which was produced at the University of 
Maryland, College Park by the Department of Theatre in March of 2006.  The intent 
of this document is to depict the costume designer's proces from textual analysis 
through completion of the stage design in four chapters.  Chapter 1 is a textual 
analysis of Shanley's script.  Chapter 2 details the metings, visual research and pre-
production colaboration of the director and design team that worked to create the 
design concept.  Chapter 3 documents the technical realization of the costume design 
and collaboration with other members of the production team.  Chapter 4 is a critical 
self-analysis reflecting on both strengths and weakneses of the costume design and 
the designer's proces. 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
A COSTUME DESIGN FOR JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY'S 
SAVAGE IN LIMBO 
 
 
 
By 
 
 
Yvete Marie Ryan 
 
 
 
 
 
Thesis submited to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Maryland, Colege Park, in partial fulfilment 
of the requirements for the degree of 
Master of Fine Arts 
2006 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Advisory Commite: 
Profesor Heln Q. Huang, Chair 
Asociate Profesor and Director of Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Daniel Conway 
Profesor Mitchel Hebert 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
? Copyright by 
Yvete Marie Ryan 
2006 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Table of Contents..........................................................................................................i 
List of Figures..............................................................................................................iv 
Introduction...................................................................................................................1 
Chapter 1: Textual Analysis..........................................................................................4 
John Patrick Shanley: ?Bard of the Bronx?..............................................................4 
Savage: A 1960s Bronx Childhood...........................................................................5 
In Limbo: Shanley in the 1980s................................................................................7 
The Greed Decade...................................................................................................10 
Chapter 2: Pre-Production Proces.............................................................................14 
Concept Meting.....................................................................................................14 
Research..............................................................................................................15 
Research Exchange and the ?Interactive Cornel Box?......................................16 
Research Presentation Meting...............................................................................18 
Sketching and Post-Research Meting................................................................18 
Preliminary Design Presentation.............................................................................20 
Sketching, Round Two........................................................................................21 
Design Presentation................................................................................................21 
Revisiting April...................................................................................................2 
Design Check-up Meting..................................................................................23 
esign Approval.....................................................................................................24 
Chapter 3: Production Proces....................................................................................25 
Shopping.................................................................................................................25 
Fitings: Round One................................................................................................27 
Rehearsal Room Changes: Shoes............................................................................30 
Fitings: Round Two...............................................................................................32 
Tech Wekend and Dres Rehearsals.....................................................................32 
Chapter 4: Post-Production Self-Analysis..................................................................36 
Costumes On Stage: What Worked........................................................................36 
Costumes On Stage: What Didn?t Work.................................................................38 
Communication and Collaboration.........................................................................40 
The Director and Goal-Oriented Problem Solving.............................................40 
The Design Team: Al for One, and One for Al................................................41 
Different Actors, Different Neds.......................................................................43 
The Costume Shop..............................................................................................44 
Life Lesons: Finding the Happy Medium.............................................................45 
Flexibility............................................................................................................45 
Maintaining Perspective......................................................................................46 
Conclusion..............................................................................................................48 
Appendix A: Visual Research.....................................................................................49 
ppendix B: Costume Renderings..............................................................................72 
Appendix C: Production Photographs........................................................................79 
ppendix D: Supporting Paperwork...........................................................................89 
 
 ii 
 
Bibliography...............................................................................................................92 
 
 
 
 iv 
 
List of Figures 
Figure 1: Research Image for Savage in Limbo?Visual Response??.49 
Figure 2: Research Image for Savage in Liboisual Response-------49 
Figure 3: Research Image for Savage in Limbo?Visual Response??.50 
Figure 4: Research Image for Savage in Liboisual Response??.50 
Figure 5: Research Image for Savage in Limbo?Visual Response??.51 
Figure 6: Research Image for Denise Savage???????????51 
Figure 7: Research Image for Denise Savage???????????52 
Figure 8: Research Image for Denise Savage?Dres???????...53 
Figure 9: Research Image for Denise SavageHair????????.54 
Figure 10: Research Image for Linda Rotunda?????????.....55 
Figure 11: Research Image for Linda Rotunda??????????.56 
Figure 12: Research Image for Linda Rotunda??????????.57 
Figure 13: Research Image for Linda Rotunda?Tops???????.58 
Figure 14: Research Image for Linda RotundaJeans???????59 
Figure 15: Research Image for Linda Rotunda?Boots???????60 
Figure 16: Research Image for Linda RotundaHair and Make-up??61 
Figure 17: Research Image for Tony Aronica??????????...62 
Figure 18: Research Image for Tony Aronica  
Figure 19: Research Image for Tony Aronica?Clothes??????...63  
Figure 20: Research Image for April White???????????..64 
Figure 21: Research Image for April hite???????????..65 
Figure 22: Research Image for April White  
Figure 23: Research Image for April hite?Dres????????.66 
Figure 24: Research Image for Murk??????????????67 
Figure 25: Research Image for Murk??????????????67 
Figure 26: Research Image for Murk??????????????68 
Figure 27: Research Image for Murk??????????????69 
Figure 28: Research Image for Murk?Clothes?????????....70 
Figure 29: Research Image for MurkShoes??????????..71 
Figure 30: Costume Rendering? Denise Savage?????????.72 
Figure 31: Costume RenderingLinda Rotunda?????????..73 
Figure 32: Costume Rendering?Tony Aronica (Final)???????74 
Figure 33: Costume Rendering Tony Aronic (Alternate Color One)?75 
Figure 34: Costume Rendering?Tony Aronica (Alternate Color Two)...75 
Figure 35: Costume RenderingApril White (Final)????????76 
Figure 36: Costume Rendering?pril White (Alternate One)??....?.77 
Figure 37: Costume RenderingApril White (Alternate Two)????77 
Figure 38: Costume Rendering?Murk?????????????..78 
Figure 39: Production PhotoDenise Savage??...????????79 
Figure 40: Production Photo?Linda, Denise, Murk????????.80 
Figure 41: Production PhotoLinda, Denise, Murk????????.81 
Figure 42: Production Photo?Denise, Murk, April????????..81 
Figure 43: Production PhotoTony, Murk, Linda?????????82 
Figure 44: Production Photo?Linda, Tony????????...???83 
 
 v 
 
Figure 45: Production Photo?Tony Aronica??????????..84 
Figure 46: Production PhotoMurk, April???????????.85 
Figure 47: Production Photo?urk, April (Santa)????????.85 
Figure 48: Production Photo April White???????????.86 
Figure 49: Production Photo?April, Denise, Murk????????87 
Figure 50: Production Photo Set Design and Lighting Design??....88
 
 1 
 
Introduction 
 The purpose of this thesis is to document and analyze the costume design 
proces for John Patrick Shanley?s Savage in Limbo, produced at the University of 
Maryland, College Park in March 2006 by the Department of Theatre and the Woolly 
Mamoth Theatre Company in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Theatre.  This was the 
second show produced under the auspices of a new working relationship betwen the 
Department of Theatre and the Woolly Mamoth Theatre Company, a profesional 
company located in Washington D.C.  In this arrangement, student actors and 
designers and stage managers have the opportunity to work with their profesional 
counterparts in a ?blended company? under the artistic guidance of both the faculty of 
the Department of Theatre and members of the Woolly Mamoth Theatre Company. 
 For this production of Savage in Limbo, Profesor Mitchel H?bert, a long 
time meber of both the Woolly Mamoth Theatre Company and the performance 
faculty at the University of Maryland, served as director.  Eric Van Wyk was the set 
designer, Rebeca Wolf designed the lights, and Kathryn Pong was the sound 
designer.  Lisa Vivo was the production Stage Manager and her Asistant Stage 
Managers were Becki Wegand and Jenna Deacon.  Visiting Asistant Profesor Susan 
Haedicke was the lead dramaturg and Ana Marie Salmat was her asistant. 
 The costume shop manager was Alison Ragland.  Marilyn Deighton, Lecturer 
in costume technology, was the show?s draper, with additional support provided by 
Susan Chiang and Lisa Burges, both drapers in the University of Maryland costume 
shop.  The asistant to the costume designer was Jackie Litman. 
 
 2 
 
 Faculty advisors for this production were Profesor Heln Q. Huang 
(costumes), Asociate Profesor Daniel Conway (set) and Asistant Profesor Harold 
Burges (lights) who also served as the overal design supervisor.  Daniel MacLean 
Wagner served as Artistic Director for the Department of Theatre in conjunction with 
Harold Shalwitz, Artistic Director of Wooly Mamoth Theatre Company.  
Additional artistic support was provided by Brian Smith, Production Manager for 
Woolly Mamoth Theatre Company. 
 
 Theatre is art with an expiration date.  After the show closes the only things 
that remain are production photos and paperwork generated during the proces of 
geting the show on stage.  The show, as it existed for a brief time, is gone forever.  In 
this document, I wil atempt to preserve a fragment of the Savage in Limbo I helped 
to create. 
 In Chapter One, I provide pertinent background information about John 
Patrick Shanley, the play, and the time in which it was writen.  I also discuss how 
Savage in Limbo is not only a play relvant to a particular time in the author?s life, 
but also a play representing a greater point of view on the 1980s as an era. 
 Chapter Two documents the costume design proces from Concept Meting to 
Design Approval, focusing on research, design development, artistic ollaboration, 
and revision as parts of my design proces. 
 In Chapter 3, I detail the realization of the costume design from initial 
approval through opening night, with particular emphasis placed on the acquisition of 
 
 3 
 
costume pieces, costume fitings, and collaboration with both my felow designers 
and the costume shop. 
  Chapter 4 is a critical self-analysis that focuses on both the strengths and 
weaknes of not only the production, but also of myself as a designer and an artist 
preparing to enter the profesional world.   
 
 4 
 
 
Chapter 1: Textual Analysis 
 
John Patrick Shanley is a prolific playwright.  In a carer spanning three 
decades, he has writen more than twenty plays ranging from homegrown tales of the 
Bronx to topical treatments on current events.  Savage in Limbo is one of Shanley?s 
early ?Bronx plays?.  Laden with personal demons, it is not only a representation of 
his personal struggles, but also a snapshot of a subsection of people failing to live up 
to ideals of the so-caled Greed Decade of 1980s America. 
 
John Patrick Shanley: ?Bard of the Bronx? 
 
John Patrick Shanley burst onto the theatre scene in 1983 with Danny and the 
Dep Blue Sea and has been turning out new work regularly ever since including the 
dreamer examines his pilow, Italian American Reconciliation, Beggars in the House 
of Plenty, Psychopathia Sexualis, Dirty Story, and Doubt, which won a Tony Award 
and the Pulitzer Prize in 2004.  In the middle of his artisticaly rich playwriting 
career, he turned to screenwriting to pay the bils when the National Endowment for 
the Arts grant he was living on began to dwindle
1
.   
George Harrison (of Beatles fame) produced Shanley?s first screenplay Five 
Corners in 1987, paving the way for Moonstruck, for which he won an Academy 
Award, later that same year.  Other screenplays include Joe Versus the Volcano (also 
                                                 
1
 Robert Coe,  ?The Evolution of John Patrick Shanley.?  American Theatre; Nov 
2004, Vol. 21, No. 9, 25. 
 
 
 5 
 
his film directorial debut) and screen adaptations of Alive and Congo.  He was 
nominated for an Emy award in 2002 for HBO?s Live From Baghdad.  Al of these 
achievements come from a man who was ??thrown out of St. Helna?s 
kindergarten? banned from St. Anthony?s hot lunch program? expeled from 
cardinal Spelman High School? [and] placed on academic probation by New York 
University,? during his  semingly misguided youth
2
.     
While John Patrick Shanley left behind his past, serving in the Marine Corps 
and eventualy returning to NYU to graduate valedictorian of al schools, some of his 
best work (including award winners Moonstruck and Doubt) has remained close to 
home. Shanley grew up in an Italian-Irish imigrant neighborhood of the Bronx in 
the 1960s where he atended Catholic schools until he was expeled from high school 
and sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire.  His blue-collar neighborhood and 
Catholic-school background figure heavily into his work, especialy his early plays. 
  
Savage: A 1960s Bronx Childhood  
 
Savage in Limbo was Shanley?s 1984 follow-up to Danny and the Dep Blue 
Sea.  It is especialy entrenched in not only the Bronx of the early 1980s, but also 
meories of the Bronx he grew up in during the 1960s. While the characters are 
reflecting on their Catholic gramar school past, we are alowed to taste both the 
swetnes of their dreams and the biternes of the environment in which they grew 
up and have never been able to escape.  
                                                 
2
 Playbil, ?Playbil Biography: John Patrick Shanley,? 
http:/ww.playbil.com/celberitybuzz/whoswho/biography/11189 (acesed 09 
March 2006) 
 
 
 6 
 
In my neighborhood, they?d take penguins out 
of the Bronx Zoo and beat them to death.  I was hung 
off a five-story building by my fet when I was a child 
and threatened that they were going to drop me, and I 
was beaten or in fistfights several times a wek, 
probably for ten years.  And I grew up around people 
who ended up in jail for violent crime.  One of my 
closest friends ended up in jail for arson.  It was a 
crucible.  A very violent place
3
. 
 
We glimpse this past in Savage in Limbo through Tony?s story of his buddy 
Jimy Rina who blew up his sister with a nail bomb and April?s recollections of her 
hero, Father Rogan, and his downward spiral from respected priest to neighborhood 
crazy man.  The violence is not only in the stories; it is also in the language.  The 
characters employ cras language and are merciles with one another.  Linda, who is 
stil hoping for reconciliation with Tony, tels him, ?Listen to you.  I think you got 
about a five-wat bulb burnin in there. It?s a miracle to me that you can make your 
way around
4
.?   These are not typical words of romance, but there is a poetic beauty 
to Shanley?s characters, even when they are being cruel to one another. 
Music and poetic language was as much a part of John Patrick Shanley?s 
childhood as the violence of the Bronx.  His father emigrated from Ireland at age 
twenty-four and Shanley?s mother was first-generation US citizen from an Irish 
imigrant family.  In their household, the xtended family would gather and 
Shanley?s father would sing Irish folk songs and play the acordion
5
.  Shanley 
describes him as ?explosively wity? and possesed of a gift for language that he 
                                                 
3
 Martha McCarty, ?John Patrick Shanley: A Literary Childhood,? Dramatics 
Magazine, Sept. 1998, 10. 
4
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
22. 
5
 Martha McCarty, ?John Patrick Shanley: A Literary Childhood,? Dramatics 
Magazine, Sept. 1998, 12. 
 
 7 
 
finaly understood when he went to visit his aunt and uncle on the family farm back in 
Ireland who ??spoke, basicaly in poetry, al the time
6
.? 
The young John Patrick Shanley contributed to the poetic quality of his 
household as wel.  He began writing poetry at age elven, and it was his dominant 
form of literary expresion until he discovered playwriting in his final year at NYU.  
While Shanley was writing poems that his mother would display under the glas 
coffee table top in the family living room, he was also reading poets such as Gerard 
Manley Hopkins, Dylan Thomas, Yeats and Baudelaire
7
.  He had never spoken with 
anyone about what he read until he was expeled from Cardinal Spelman High 
School. At the New Hampshire prep school where his parents sent him, he surprised 
his teachers with a broad knowledge of poets and their work?when they could 
understand him.  ?I had a very heavy Bronx acent and I mispronounced words I had 
only read?the one that comes to mind is Guy-duh-moss-pot instead of Guy de 
Maupasant
8
.?  He had an early gift for uniting the language of the Bronx and poetry. 
 
In Limbo: Shanley in the 1980s 
 
 While Savage in Limbo has a strong foundation in Shanley?s childhood in the 
1960s, its subject mater and theatrical devices, like those of his other ?Bronx plays?, 
                                                 
6
 Boris Kachka, ?Influences: Pulitzer Winner John Patrick Shanley,? New York 
Magazine, April 18 2005, 
http:/ww.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/theater/11704/index.html (acesed 09 
March 2006) 
7
 Martha McCarty, ?John Patrick Shanley: A Literary Childhood,? Dramatics 
Magazine, Sept. 1998, 10. 
8
 Boris Kachka, ?Influences: Pulitzer Winner John Patrick Shanley,? New York 
Magazine, April 18 2005, 
http:/ww.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/theater/11704/index.html (acesed 09 
March 2006) 
 
 8 
 
are undeniably bound to the state of his life in the early 1980s.  He considers Savage 
in Limbo to be part of a four-play cycle including Danny and the Dep Blue Sea, the 
dreamer examines his pilow, and Italian American Reconciliation, which focused on 
his personal struggles at that point in his life
9
.  
 Shanley wrote Savage in Limbo while his first marriage was faling apart and 
he was trying to decide ultimately what to do with his life.  Repeatedly tempted in the 
1980s to move from lower Manhatan back to the Bronx, he made it as far up as 177
th
 
street before he ?had to stop [himself] from crossing over the line into the Bronx and 
never coming back
10
.?  With plays like Savage in Limbo, Shanley shows us that while 
you can never realy go home, you can visit.  He put his struggles?al of the ?voices 
in his head
11
??on stage to talk to one another and wrestle with the black and white 
notion that there are times in life when one must decide to either change or die. 
?If you pay atention to your emotions, they wil tel 
you what to do?If you come to trust that and say ?I am 
this person.  I was born this person? as opposed to ?I did 
not chose to be this person. I was born that person.?  
Now I can either choose to live that life or do nothing.  
Those are the only two choices I can make?If you step 
off your road?you stand there for as long as you 
want?you can?t go back and you?re not going to be on 
anybody else?s?you?re going to be on yours. So, it?s 
like choosing life or death, whether you are going to 
live your life or you?re not going to live.  Maybe you?re 
going to stay in a state of stasis and wait for death 
which you se a lot of people doing
12
.  
 
                                                 
9
 Craig Gholson, ?John Patrick Shanley,? Bomb, 24 Summer 1988, 25. 
10
 Boris Kachka, ?Influences: Pulitzer Winner John Patrick Shanley,? New York 
Magazine, April 18 2005, 
http:/ww.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/theater/11704/index.html (acesed 09 
March 2006) 
11
Craig Gholson, ?John Patrick Shanley,? Bomb, 24 Summer 1988, 23. 
12
Ibid, 23. 
 
 9 
 
 The five characters in Savage in Limbo represent various iterations of the 
dichotomy betwen life and death that Shanley described.  The play takes each of 
them to the edge of the road, and forces them to make a choice.  By the end of the 
play, they have each made their choice?life, death, or the ?side of the road?.   
 Linda has been living a marginal version of her life until Tony?what she 
considers her life?tries to take a new direction without her.  Tony has ?been dreamin 
[his] life?d when [he] said go,? watching it al slip away
13
.  Linda and Tony choose 
life.  She reenters the race and he leaves the bar, finaly starting a life.     
 Murk and April have been idling on the side of the road for a long time before 
the play begins.  Murk is content with his imple routine; to him, it is life.  April is 
les content, tormented by the life she is watching disappear, but when given the 
choice of geting out or remaining unchanged, she chooses to continue ?just starin at 
the metr runnin
14
,? leting Murk take her back to a life that left her long ago. 
 Denise is stuck betwen these two ends of the spectrum of life and death.  She 
has a sincere desire to change, to move on, to start living her life, but she is out of 
touch with her emotions and cannot feel her way down into the person she is and 
alow herself to get back on her road and continue living.  Instead she remains in a 
black hole of intelectual ruminations that wil not alow her to move forward yet tels 
her she cannot move backward.  
 While Shanley wrote plays like Savage in Limbo to work through the 
problems he was experiencing, that part of his career?devoted to looking back at the 
                                                 
13
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
36. 
14
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
18. 
 
 10 
 
Bronx he left? eventualy came to an end. ?I?m not that much of a ?go back and 
purchase your childhood home? kind of person.  It doesn?t realy work.  I remeber 
Bob Dylan did, and you know, eventualy he sold it again
15
.? 
 
The Gred Decade 
 
 Beyond being linked to a major crisis point in John Patrick Shanley?s life, 
Savage in Limbo is bound to the time it grew out of: the 1980s. The tragedy of these 
five characters wasting their lives is thrown into sharp relief when considered in the 
context of Reagan Era American society. Shanley, and the characters he creates in 
Savage in Limbo were children in the socialy idealistic1960s, came of age in the 
1970s Me Decade of ?extreme self-examination? and hit a crisis point in the 1980s 
Greed Decade of ?self-expresion and grandstanding
16
.?  Their voices and the social 
standards of succes that these characters fail to met are unique to that time in our 
country?s history.  Just as Tony and Linda want to escape their homes and routines, 
they also struggle against the ideals of the 1980s.  Denise is entirely aware of the 
changing world around her, but she cannot move into the time, while Murk and April 
checked out of society long ago, and live in a time that has been replaced. 
                                                 
15
 Boris Kachka, ?Influences: Pulitzer Winner John Patrick Shanley,? New York 
Magazine, April 18 2005, 
http:/ww.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/theater/11704/index.html (acesed 09 
March 2006) 
16
 Anne Slowey, Foreword to Ele Style: The 1980s, by Fran?ois Baudot and Jean 
Demachy, Newport Beach: Filipachi Publishing, 2003, 6. 
 
 11 
 
 The character of Tony is linked to the ideas of status-dresing and looking for 
something outside one?s self to find happines
17
.  In his case, it is the conquest of 
women.  He reduces his life to ?the girl, the car, [and] the bed?, externalizing his 
happines and making it something he can posses
18
.  Like a corporate drone striving 
for happines in wealth, he eliminates the things that hold him back (relationships, for 
instance) and cultivates what wil help him succed (appearance).  When he realizes 
his life is pasing him by, he thinks that changing his appearance can change his life, 
but Linda knows it wil not be enough.  ?You can change your clothes from now to 
New Year?s and it ain?t gonna do you dip.  What you gotta do, Anthony, swetheart, 
is you gotta do your laundry.  It ain?t the new clothes that make the man. It?s what he 
does with his dirty things
19
.?  By changing clothes and looking for ?ugly girls? to 
save him, Tony would simply be remarketing the same product in a different package 
to get what he needs, but this time his women would also be in a new package?
physical uglines. 
 While Linda can se Tony?s problems, she is blind to her own, even though 
she and Tony are both caught up in the similar dilemas.  She also externalizes her 
happines, placing it in Monday nights with Tony and what it takes to keep Monday 
night, which is her external appearance.  She is influenced by the body-consciousnes 
                                                 
17
 Anne Slowey, Foreword to Ele Style: The 1980s, by Fran?ois Baudot and Jean 
Demachy, Newport Beach: Filipachi Publishing, 2003, 5. 
18
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
21. 
19
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
23. 
 
 12 
 
trend of the time as wel as the repackaging of her identity to succed
20
.  ?I said I?d be 
ugly for him, but he said no. It didn?t work that way.  I?m so ashamed.  I fel ugly.  I 
feel fat
21
.?   
 For both Linda and Tony, it is when they stop looking at the exterior that they 
are able to rejoin life.  They each se they have problems inside themselves, and 
acept them in order to change.  They choose one another because they look beyond 
the surface and choose to embrace ach other, imperfect as they may be. 
 Denise has failed to step into the 1980s.  ?The 1970s gave us the explosion of 
pop-psychology, feminism, [and] the sexual revolution?? which let single women 
have upwardly mobile carers, move out of the family home, and enjoy sexual 
freedom unlike any other time in the history of the United States
22
.  Instead of 
embracing these changes to move forward in life, she has remained in her childhood 
bedroom, a thirty-two year old virgin trying to ignore her discontent.  She tries to 
explain to Linda what it feels like to be a virgin, ?I feel strong.  Like I?m wearin 
chains and I could snap ?em any time. I fel ready. I go to work and I feel like I could 
take over the company, but I just type,
23
? and tels a story of wasted opportunity.  
Denise ses the options spread out before her, but wil not take a step forward to 
embrace the opportunities she has been afforded by the times in which she lives.   Her 
life wil remain staled until she stops looking at her options and chooses one.  
                                                 
20
 Anne Slowey, Foreword to Ele Style: The 1980s, by Fran?ois Baudot and Jean 
Demachy, Newport Beach: Filipachi Publishing, 2003, 8. 
21
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
12. 
22
 Anne Slowey, Foreword to Ele Style: The 1980s, by Fran?ois Baudot and Jean 
Demachy, Newport Beach: Filipachi Publishing, 2003, 5. 
23
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
13-14. 
 
 13 
 
 Murk and April are unable to be part of the world that outsiders like Tony, 
Linda and Denise bring into the bar.  Beyond failing to achieve personal or financial 
succes, they actively pursue the status quo in a time when progres and the slogan 
?Just Do It? was stil a mantra, not a corporate slogan
24
.  At some point, they both 
checked out of life.  For April it appears to have been when her mother, ?the only 
person ever stupid enough to love me?, died on a childhood Christmas; that is where 
Murk takes April to return her happines
25
.  It is les clear when Murk decided to stop 
moving forward.  His wooden foot, strict adherence to rules, and dialogue with 
Denise suggest the possibility that he served in Vietnam.  
SAVAGE. He?s never grown up.  He stil thinks he?s 
playin Simon Says on the playground. 
MURK. I never played Simon Says. 
SAVAGE. Wel, whatever. 
MURK. I played War. 
SAVAGE. Bang, bang. 
MURK. Shut up, Savage
26
. 
 
 These two characters, caught in the past, further highlight the entrenchment of 
the 1980s in Tony and Linda as wel as the dichotomy of life and betwen the two 
couples.  Furthermore, these characters tie the play to a specific history that would be 
absent if the play were updated to the present day.  
                                                 
24
 Anne Slowey, Foreword to Ele Style: The 1980s, by Fran?ois Baudot and Jean 
Demachy, Newport Beach: Filipachi Publishing, 2003, 11. 
25
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
35. 
26
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
10-11. 
 
 14 
 
 
Chapter 2: Pre-Production Proces 
Concept Meting 
 The first step in our design proces at the University of Maryland is a Concept 
Meting in which the director discusses their conceptual approach to the show.  
When the design team et with Profesor H?bert he told us to feel free to share our 
ideas openly as we worked together.  In this spirit of collaboration, he brought two 
strong ideas to the table to discuss with the designers:  the ?concert play? and 
Hyperrealism.  
 John Patrick Shanley describes Savage in Limbo as a ?concert play?, and 
elaborates on what that means to him. 
In a concert play the audience, at least in my mind, is 
included in the world which the characters inhabit.  And 
the play itself is more a series of related emotional and 
intelectual events than a conventional story. The 
characters are given more room, more stage, to expres 
themselves than the restraints of naturalism would 
alow.  And I hope of course, too, that there is a certain 
musical performance quality to it al
27
. 
 
Profesor H?bert further unpacked the idea, relating it to the way Shanley composes 
his characters?they are bigger than life.  Additionaly, because each character has a 
different sound, like different genres of music, their intense moments of confesion 
play out like arias, pushing energy out in waves. Visualy, this meant the design 
elments needed to support this energy flow and pull in the audience. Profesor 
H?bert wanted the design to hold the play, but not comment on it.  It would be 
                                                 
27
John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
3. 
 
 15 
 
grounded in reality but not slave to it.  I interpreted that to mean my costume design 
should act as a realistic canvas for the actors. I would give them a foundation that 
indicated who the characters are, and they would flesh out the character?s life in the 
performance.  
 The second idea Profesor H?bert was interested in exploring was 
Hyperrealism.  Hyperrealism is a genre of painting in which the subject is depicted in 
such realistic detail that the effect surpases reality, creating an almost unsetling 
depiction of life
28
.  Because the struggles and emotions of the characters are at the 
edge of reality, he wanted to explore the idea of incorporating hyper-real details into 
the design as a visual metaphor.  This was intriguing because it would keep my idea 
of the design being a ?blank canvas? from descending into stereotypes.  Grasping on 
to these two ideas, I began my visual research.      
 
Research 
 
 When I initialy met with Profesor Huang following the Concept Meting, 
she asked me why Profesor H?bert and the design team wanted to set the show in the 
1980s instead of updating it to present day. I explained the two compeling factors in 
favor of the 1980s.  First, the text is rife with time-specific references.  Tony?s 
briliant and extensive monologue about the Soviet Union could be perceived as 
irrelevant fiften years after the end of the Cold War. Second, these characters were 
writen in a time when personal succes was of paramount importance, and they are 
al failing miserably at reaching benchmarks of personal succes.  
                                                 
28
 MSN Encarta ?Hyperrealism? (acesed 09 March 2006) 
http:/encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861739424/hyperrealism.html 
 
 16 
 
Satisfied with our reasons, Profesor Huang advised me not to focus on 
clothing of the period in initial research, but rather strive to show an intuitive 
understanding of the characters using images from the 1980s.  Forcing myself to 
disregard clothing, I found inspiration primarily in the photography of Nan Goldin, 
Philip-Lorca diCorcia, and David Armstrong.   For me, each of these photographers 
captured in their work different aspects of what I saw in Savage in Limbo.  Nan 
Goldin depicts the dirty, ugly side of urban life, and dives deep into human sexuality, 
the experience of her own abusive relationships, and mental ilnes.  Philip-Lorca 
diCorcia photographs isolated people in images that look artificial and cut off from 
the subject.  He uses unusual light and colors that evoke an uneasy feeling.  David 
Armstrong takes portraits of people who are beautifully fragile and damaged.  These 
qualities fit my impresion of the characters.  
 I checked in with Profesor Huang again after my initial round of research, 
and she liked the direction I was headed.  She told me to email Profesor H?bert and 
let him know the nature of the research I was bringing and promise clothing research 
with the sketches.  I did this and set up a time to met with the design team again. 
  
Research Exchange and the ?Interactive Cornel Box? 
 
Mr. Van Wyk, Ms. Wolf and I got together before our Research Presentation 
Meting to touch base and share our images.  We spread everything out on a table, 
explained why we liked particular images and looked for connections in our research.   
We did not ned to look very hard. 
 Beyond a unified emotional connection to the play, we also had more concrete 
 
 17 
 
research ideas in common.  Each of us were drawn to images with unexpected details 
such as a jukebox in someone?s living room or a poured cement dog siting in the 
corner of a room.  We also had an interest in similar materials and textures: brick, 
paneling, tile, plastic and synthetic fabrics.  The most exciting overlap in research was 
related to color.  Al three of us were in love with a putrid shade of gren that 
reoccurred across our images.  We unanimously agreed that the show?s palete felt 
like it should balance neutrals and colors, with the colors generaly being lower 
intensity, higher saturation shades. 
Whenever Mr. Van Wyk prefaces a remark with ?This may be a crazy idea, 
but?? I am instantly interested in what he has to say.  At the end of our research 
exchange when he told Ms. Wolf and me that he wanted to build an environmental 
box loosely based on Joseph Cornel?s sculpture boxes as a design development tool 
to share with Profesor H?bert
29
.  He invited us to join him, and we gladly acepted.  I 
wanted to work with Mr. Van Wyk closely as he developed the environment because 
Murk and April sem like fixtures of the bar to me, like the furniture or dead plants 
on the set, and I wanted our designs to have unity. 
We each brought elments we wanted to incorporate into the piece.  My 
favorite contribution was an old metal fan I found at a thrift store.  When I brought it 
out, Mr. Van Wyk asked me if he had talked about a fan the previous night.  When I 
told him he had not, he laughed in disbelief; we were on the same page.     
  
                                                 
29
 Joseph Cornel was a mid-20
th
 century sculpture who created art pieces consisting 
of ?dovecotes? and ?boxes? filed with text, images and 3-d objects based on a visual 
theme or metaphor. 
 
 18 
 
Research Presentation Meting 
 
 At the Research Presentation Meting Mr. Van Wyk?s original asesment 
was confirmed, the environmental box was deemed ?crazy.?  Crazy, but effective at 
conveying thre ideas the design team was interested in developing: the stage space 
not being cut off from the audience, a sense of history to the bar, and an 
unpleasantnes that should repulse the characters, and yet does not.   
 I used the Research Meting as an opportunity to refine my direction though 
Profesor H?bert?s feedback.  I presented my research images to Profesor H?bert in 
pairs or groups, explaining what I liked about each image and making mental notes 
on the images in which he also saw his ideas about the characters.  I also eliminated 
images that were les effective.  
Profesor Huang?s advice to not show too much clothing research was spot-
on.  Profesor H?bert and I were able to use the images I presented to talk about the 
characters without geting bogged down in buttons and hemlines.  Profesor Conway, 
Mr. Van Wyk?s advisor, was concerned that I would fal behind in the design proces 
because I had not shown more clothing research prior to sketching. I agreed to met 
with Profesor H?bert prior to the Preliminary Design Presentation Meting to show 
more research. 
 
Sketching and Post-Research Meting 
 
 Because much of what constitutes detailed clothing research for the 1980s is 
found in magazines and catlogues, which lack any reference to character and instead 
focus on seling a product, I wanted to present it side by side with sketches.  I set to 
 
 19 
 
work sketching to prepare for my post-research meting. 
 I reviewed al of my clothing and character research and began sketching 
quickly, leting my intuition guide me through the revisions.  The show was being 
cast early in the same wek the design team would present preliminary designs. I 
wanted to get a workable set of sketches out and feedback from Profesor H?bert 
because I prefer to design for a character first and consider the specific actor second. 
My goal was to be working on revisions when the cast list was posted. 
 For the character of Denise, I designed a wrap dres with a ribbon tie closure, 
pumps and a distresed leather jacket.  I sketched a flower in her hair, half as a joke to 
myself, ??a be in a jar, dreaming about flowers?
30
?  Linda was over the top in a 
mini-skirt, lace shirt and dangerously high heels.  I loaded on the acesories that 
Profesor H?bert and I had discussed from my research.  I took my inspiration for 
April from a research image Profesor H?bert liked. I gave her a layered look with a 
long te shirt, sweater and jacket al over leggings with high top sneakers.  I finished 
it with a girlish headband that was offbeat with her sad clothes. 
 The men were more basic in style but a study in contrast.  Tony looked ?done 
up? and impractical in leather pants, a flowing silk shirt and too much jewelry.  Murk 
was at the other end of the spectrum, utilitarian in his button-up shirt, tie, work pants 
and solid work boots.  I met with Profesor Huang, she told me the sketches were fun 
to look at but that I needed to be careful not to get too carried away, especialy with 
the women.  The five characters are al very different people, but I needed to make 
sure they were al in the same world, and that no one character looked too extreme 
                                                 
30
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
13. 
 
 20 
 
next to another character.   
Preliminary Design Presentation 
 
 I chose to not present color renderings at the Preliminary Design Presentation 
because Mr. Van Wyk was not yet ready to move into color and was showing a 
neutral model. It was important to me that we remained close together as we 
progresed into color because I wanted to make a clear distinction betwen Murk and 
April, who are part of the world of the bar, and the other characters who come into 
the bar from the outside, and I knew color would play a role in making that clear. 
 I presented my sketches alongside supporting research and Profesor H?bert 
agreed with most of my choices.   Murk, Tony, and Denise were ready to be sen in 
color renderings.  Linda?s mini-skirt and sexy top were something the character 
would wear, but, as Profesor Huang had cautioned me, they were a litle too extreme 
for the circumstances of the text.  Profesor H?bert was interested in making Linda?s 
movement very active, which would require a more flexible style.  He had lent me a 
copy of the film Mortal Thoughts early in the proces as a jumping off point for the 
period style and to show me how he saw the characters in Savage in Limbo 
interacting.  He asked to se a sketch of Linda in pants and urged me to keep the style 
of Demi Moore?s character from the movie in mind as I did my next round of 
sketches.  
 April was the character that Profesor H?bert and I had the hardest time 
connecting on, despite our early agrement on research images.  She is an extremely 
complex character.  Her lines, although smal in amount, always have impact.  
 
 21 
 
Profesor H?bert could not se April in pants so he asked for a more feminine sketch 
with ?les going on?.  I could understand his request.  Going back to my desire to 
design costumes that could act as a canvas or the performer, I needed to simplify.   
 
Sketching, Round Two 
 
 Back at the drawing board, I created a new look for Linda first.  Taking 
inspiration from Mortal Thoughts, I sketched high-waisted jeans paired with a sexy 
lace top.  I finished the look with cowboy boots and a big belt, keeping the hair and 
acesories from the first round of sketches. 
 My new look for April was more simple and feminine.  It consisted of a knee-
length coton summer dres and a somewhat shabby cardigan sweater matched with 
flats and a soft, side swept ponytail.  I launched into color, hoping these revisions fit 
Profesor H?bert?s vision.   
 
Design Presentation 
 
 When we met again for the Design Presentation Meting Profesor H?bert 
was very pleased with Linda?s revision.  He especialy liked the cowboy boots, which 
he had previously intimated were his favorite part of Demi Moore?s Mortal Thoughts 
costume.  Before we moved on to April, Profesor H?bert had a second thought.  
Linda?s short-sleved red lace top was not feminine enough. He asked me ?How 
about some ruffles or something?? I was skeptical, but I told him I would se what I 
could do.  Privately, I was afraid the look would be dowdy.  
 April was les succesful.  The look was too sad with the frumpy sweater.  
 
 22 
 
Profesor H?bert explained that he thought she would be more fashionable because 
she has a line about keping her ?options open? when she refuses to marry Murk
31
.  
He wanted to justify why she would consider herself a catch, by making her fairly 
atractive.  We talked about the choice, and I respectfully disagred with his 
asesment that she had a fashion consciousnes.  I interpreted the text as she had 
gone from wanting to become a nun to a downward spiral of drinking and personal 
neglect.  Where or when did the awarenes of fashion manifest?  At an impase, the 
dramaturg, Susan Haedicke voiced her opinion that April could be stuck in another 
era in which her life had ben good, for instance, the mid-1970s when she would have 
been in her mid-twenties.  Intrigued by that possibility, Profesor H?bert and I agred 
to look at a sketch of a 1970s inspired look.  
 In terms of color, I was making progres.  While Mr. Van Wyk was stil in 
betwen the white model and a color model, he and I had met to discuss color and he 
was not worried about my choices prior to the Design Presentation Meting and 
agreed that I neded to move forward and show color.    Profesor H?bert agreed with 
the majority of my color choices, even that of April whom we had not setled on a 
final design for yet.  He was concerned about Tony.  He felt the shirt was too busy 
with the number of colors it contained and asked me to paint one that was les 
colorful, yet stil ?popped?. 
 
Revisiting April 
 
Once again working on April, I created thre looks with varying levels of 
                                                 
31
John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
35. 
 
 23 
 
1970s influence.  The first look I created was separates:  a long coton tunic shirt 
paired with a prairie style skirt.  I thought it might be perceived as too fashionable 
because both of those styles had resurfaced as fashion trends this year.  The second 
was inspired by a 1980s Gunne Sax dres with a strong 1970s inspiration.  While I 
liked it in terms of its place in fashion history, it felt ?Litle House on the Prairie? to 
me.  The final look was a clasic 1970s empire-waisted dres with a crochet lace vest.  
I liked this look the best, but I was not sold on the 1970s style as ?April enough?.   
 In my next meting with Profesor H?bert, I explained the three 
renderings and told him y ?pros and cons? of each.  We agred on most of my 
reservations about the first two looks, and we decided to work with the 1970s empire 
line dres.    
 
Design Check-up Meting 
 
 We held an additional design team meting to show Mr. Van Wyk?s finalized 
color model and my color and style changes.  Profesor H?bert liked the ruffled top 
on Linda.  Revisiting Tony?s shirt, I had swung too far toward tame with a striped 
vivid orange and Columbia blue and he told me to go back to my original idea for the 
multi-colored print. 
 April was a longer conversation. Howard Shalwitz, who had previously 
remained relatively silent about my costume choices, asked an important question. 
Why does April look so put together? Profesor H?bert and I explained the idea that 
April stil thought she was ?a catch? and that we were trying to show that in her look.  
Mr. Shalwitz agreed with that possibility but suggested that we look at taking a 
 
 24 
 
slightly quirkier approach to the character?maybe a frumpy sweater or something 
else that does not work with the dres.  We decided to try blending more of my ideas 
from the second round of sketching into the current look.  Confident that we agred 
on our new direction, we decided to forego another round of April sketches. 
 
Design Approval 
 
 Betwen metings with Profesor Hebert and the design team, I was working 
with Ms. Ragland to cost-out the show, and the budget looked tight.  We were going 
into the Design Approval Meting with a budget breakdown that showed us going 
over budget because I had designed several items that were both unusual and 
expensive.  We discussed the possibility of cutting some of those items from the 
design?leather pants, boots for Linda, the Santa suit, beard and wig. 
 Unfortunately, most of these items were non-negotiable.  Santa is in the script, 
and Linda?s boots were too important to her look.  Ms. Ragland pointed to the leather 
pants as the best option and I had to be firm.  I could not do it.  While the line in the 
script says that Tony ?sometimes? wears leather pants, I knew, as an audience 
meber, that if I heard that line and then he came in wearing something other than 
leather pants, I would be taken out of the moment wondering why he was not wearing 
them. 
 Ms. Ragland expresed her confidence that I could shop the show for the 
amount we were alotted, but she was firm at the Design Approval Meting, making it 
clear to al present that we could not afford major changes.  With frugality impresed 
upon me, I made my shopping plans.  
 
 25 
 
Chapter 3: Production Proces 
Shopping 
 
 After my design for Savage in Limbo was approved in mid-December, I 
atempted to pull costume pieces from Maryland?s stock. Because Maryland keeps 
very few modern garments, and the smal amount in stock would not fit my cast, I 
switched tactics and began to shop for the costume pieces.  I knew I had a limited 
amount of time to complet my initial shopping because the show was approved very 
close to the end of the fal semester, and al of my pieces were due in the shop by the 
end of the first wek we returned from winter break.  To further complicate maters, 
the pieces I needed to buy were very specific, and the budget mandated prudence in 
al non-returnable purchases. 
 My next step was to make a shopping plan in order to use my time effectively.  
Most of my clothing purchases would probably be second-hand because I was 
looking for garments from the 1980s.  I decided to go to vintage and thrift stores 
before the mal to maximize my chances of finding the right garments quickly.  I also 
broke down the list of items I needed to buy into categories based on where I thought 
I might find them. 
 I began my shopping at vintage stores in Takoma Park, Maryland because 
they have the largest quantity of quality vintage clothing available in the greater 
Washington D.C. area.  I set a goal to find Linda?s boots, April?s dres and sweater, 
Denise?s dres and shoes, and Tony?s silk shirt in Takoma Park.  It was a very 
ambitious goal, and not surprisingly I did not met it.  Vintage stores have a 
constantly rotating stock that can be heavy on one era of clothing for a time then shift 
 
 26 
 
to another era as people buy pieces.  The 1980s were not prominent in any Takoma 
Park shops.  I managed to find April?s dres (which had a 1970s flavor) and shoes for 
Denise.  
 Undaunted, I ventured into Washington D.C. to try the shops on U Street, 
NW.  My luck turned and I found a sweater for April and a dres I hoped could work 
for Denise, but the dres was questionable.  I found a navy polyester mate jersey 
wrap dres?exactly what I needed?but it had long, dolman sleves and a long skirt.  
I had designed short cap sleves and a kne-length skirt.  I thought my draper could 
alter the dres to my design, but I was concerned about the extra work it would cause 
for Ms. Deighton.  After much debate I bought the dres, deciding it would be a beter 
use of time to buy the dres and alter it than to build it or have to come back again 
later to buy, risking it being sold out from under me.  Having made only smal 
progres, I ended the day shopping online.  I purchased leather pants and a colorful 
silk shirt for Tony from the International Male website. 
 Before leaving Maryland for the winter break I made a two-day thrift store 
tour and a trip to the mal.  The thrift stores were much more fruitful than the vintage 
stores. The first day I bought complet outfits for Murk and Linda as wel as a beter 
sweater for April and acesories for Denise.  On the second day I was les succesful 
at the thrift stores, only finding purses?albeit very good ones?for al three women.  
I continued to come up short on boots for Linda and April. My problem was solved at 
the Prince Georges Plaza Mal where I finaly found the elusive boots.   
 While I was out of town for Christmas, the package from International Male 
arrived.  I was worried about the silk shirt I had ordered for Tony.  It was very bright 
 
 27 
 
and the silk charmeuse fabric had a bolder sheen than I was expecting.  I would not 
know how it looked under lights until Ms. Wolf could return from break and we could 
look at it together in the light lab, but I sensed the silk?s reflective nature would be a 
problem.  
 I made another mal trip and thrift store tour to buy more options for Tony?s 
silk shirt. I went to the local thrift stores again, but I did not find any shirts.  I 
stumbled across a ruffled lace top that I picked up as another option for Linda.  It was 
white, but I knew I could dye the nylon lace red, and if the shirt worked, Profesor 
H?bert (who wanted ruffles) and I (who wanted lace) would se both our visions 
realized in one garment.  I decided it was time to go further out in Maryland to find 
the silk shirts, taking trips to Rockvile, Indian Head, and Bladensburg.  It was worth 
the effort because I found a hidden cache of silk shirts at a Salvation Army store in 
Bladensburg.  Satisfied that I had enough options for fitings, I set up a fiting 
schedule with Ms. Ragland. 
Fitings: Round One 
 
 My fitings were scheduled for the first wek of rehearsals.  I planned to se 
the women first, anticipating that those fitings would present more potential 
chalenges.  
 We brought Lindsey Snyder, who was playing Denise, in for her fiting first 
because the navy jersey dres would need significant alterations, and we wanted to 
give Ms. Deighton an early start.  She was initialy resistant to my request to reshape 
the sleves because she did not think the dolman shape could be satisfactorily altered 
into cap sleves.  I felt certain that the dres could be altered, and Profesor Huang 
 
 28 
 
agreed with me.  After receiving some asistance from Ms. Ragland in the fiting, Ms. 
Deighton found an aceptable solution for creating cap sleves out of the dolman 
shape.  In the end everyone, including Ms. Snyder, was pleased with the dres, but 
none of my jacket options worked.  I wanted the jacket to look too casual and worn 
out to match the dres. While the jackets I tired were correct to the period, they 
simply did not achieve the look I was developing with the outfit.  I decided to buy 
another jacket and se it on Ms. Snyder in her second fiting. 
 The next fiting with Ms. Madorno, who was playing April, was very short.  
The only significant change was in undergarments.  When she put on her dres, it was 
slightly too tight in the bust, but she and I agred that a les supportive, unlined bra 
would correct the problem.  After the fiting I began to have an uneasy feeling.  Ms. 
Madorno strongly resembled my rendering, which Mr. Shalwitz rightly caled ?too 
fashionable? in the Design Presentation meting.  Even with the quirky sweater I 
substituted for the 1970s crochet vest and fewer acesories, I was not sure if I had 
made the right choice when I let myself be convinced to make April?s look more 
"pulled together".  I resolved to revisit the look again before tech.  
 My fiting with Ms. DeSanti, who was playing Linda, was problematic.  The 
boots we tried fit wel and looked wonderful, but Ms. DeSanti did not like them 
because she thought the pointy 1980s toe shape made them ?clownish.?  We had a 
similar experience with the tight, high-waisted jeans I had designed.  Ms. DeSanti 
was outside of her comfort zone because both the boots and jeans were such a radical 
departure from what she is used to wearing. Profesor Huang could tel she was 
frustrated and asked her to try on al of the different jeans and pick out her favorite. 
 
 29 
 
Profesor Huang's solution of leting her pick out what she thought looked best 
worked. After asurance that she looked "like Linda", we were able to tentatively 
move forward in the fiting.   
 We tried thre tops and narrowed down to a red cotton ruffled buton up that 
Profesor Huang loved but I was les excited about, and the white ruffled lace top that 
I favored. I did not like the three-quarter length sleves on the cotton top and 
Profesor Huang was ambivalent about the lace shirt because of the color, but Ms. 
DeSanti thought the lace looked sexier.  I asured Profesor Huang the lace would 
look beter once dyed red, and she agreed to look at it in the second fiting. 
 I gave Ms. DeSanti a jacket with a beaded tiger stitched on the back, and we 
finaly had a piece everyone liked.  It went perfectly with a black metalic and gold 
chain-handled purse that she loved.  I was ready to end the fiting on a high note when 
Ms. DeSanti asked about two items I was not anticipating: body padding, and a wig. 
 Ms. DeSanti is very slender and padding would help her look more like 
Shanley?s description of Linda.  A wig would have been easier and perhaps more 
effective in creating the 1980s ?big hair? than Ms. DeSanti?s own fine, shoulder-
length hair. I fully understood her concerns on both topics, but I was not prepared to 
make any on the spot comitments. 
 From the beginning of the design proces, Profesor H?bert and I were both 
opposed to wigs because the Kogod Theatre is a very intimate space, and wigs rarely 
look good up close.  I explained this to Ms. DeSanti but asured her I would speak 
with him about the mater that day.  I also promised to discuss the padding idea.  I 
 
 30 
 
sensed she was uneasy about both topics but I was resolved to have more concret 
information before making any promises. 
 I did not have an opportunity to speak with Profesor H?bert directly, 
however, because Ms. DeSanti went to him first to voice her concerns.  He stopped 
by the costume shop shortly after her fiting to discuss the wig and padding.  
Fortunately, I had been able to sit down with Ms. Ragland and we had a plan in place 
before he arrived.   With Profesor H?bert?s approval, we decided to create both a 
padded girdle and a padded bra that together would help make Ms. DeSanti look 
more like she had given birth to thre children by giving her more prominent hips and 
a fuller, les youthful bust line.  Neither Profesor H?bert nor I was keen on the idea 
of a wig, but we appreciated Ms. DeSanti?s concerns about her hair not being ful 
enough to create the style.  We agreed to se a lace-fronted wig at the next fiting.  If 
the wig did not work, we would try to work with her hair. 
 The men?s fitings were succesful and relatively uneventful. Mr. Getman was 
very collaborative in the fiting, making a request for a tie and reading glases as 
acesories to enhance his character.  The leather pants I bought for Mr. Wilson fit 
wel through the seat and hips, but I had some concerns about the fullnes of the legs.  
Because I wasn?t sure how intense his movement would be, I decided to keep my 
concerns to myself and wait until I had them on stage before making any radical 
requests to alter leather. 
 
Rehearsal Room Changes: Shoes 
 
 
 31 
 
 My footwear journey was eventful.  Profesor H?bert requested show shoes to 
be used in rehearsal as early as possible. Early in the rehearsal proces new shoes 
were requested for Ms. Madorno, which did not surprise me because of my 
unresolved questions about the look we setled on for her. Slippers were specificaly 
requested to replace them. They semed to me like a good way to return quirkines to 
April?s design. 
 I was more worried about a request for loafers worn without socks to replace 
the motorcycle boots on Mr. Wilson. I was concerned because motorcycle boots were 
specificaly discussed in the Preliminary Design meting, and the change did not 
initialy make sense to me.  That look was a popular choice worn with jeans by 
?yuppies? and British men in the 1980s.  Loafers without socks simply did not fit my 
idea of an Italian stud in leather pants. Unable to bring myself to se skin peeking out 
from under the pant hem, I made a compromise I hoped Profesor H?bert would find 
aceptable.  I bought a second pair of boots with a more streamlined look and a pair 
of slip-on dres shoes with fuller coverage than a loafer.  Initialy Mr. Wilson liked 
the new boots beter, but Profesor H?bert was concerned that they would hinder Mr. 
Wilson?s movement.  We opted for the slip-on dres shoes. 
 Finaly, a request came to change the boots for Ms. DeSanti because they 
were ?fine? but did not ?do anything? for her walk.  With my budget unable to 
acommodate extra shoes, I had to appeal to Profesor Huang and David Kriebs, our 
production manager, to go over budget in order to buy new boots.  Citing the 
relatively smal size of the budget and the nature of the request to cover unanticipated 
 
 32 
 
changes in the design, and not to cover mistakes or inappropriate changes, I was 
given permision by David Kriebs and Profesor Huang to extend my budget slightly. 
 
Fitings: Round Two 
 
 Ms. Snyder?s second fiting went even beter than the first.  Ms. Deighton 
worked magic in her alterations of the dres and it fit Ms. Snyder beautifully. 
Additionaly I found a wonderful leather jacket from the mid-1970s for her, and Ms. 
Snyder loved it, saying ?Denise bought this jacket for herself with her first real 
paycheck.? I was thriled that I gave Ms. Snyder a costume piece that was not only 
appropriate, but also spoke to her character. 
 Ms. DeSanti?s second fiting also went wel.  I had crafted a bra stuffed with 
lentils that gave her the fuler, lower bosom of a woman who had given birth and was 
?almost fat
32
.?  I paired it with a padded girdle that was undetectable under clothing, 
and Ms. DeSanti liked the changes to her typicaly slender shape.  We further built up 
the look with shoulder pads, oversized earrings, and a new pair of 3 !-inch spike-
heeld, slouch boots.  The teased wig with side swept bangs finished off everything.   
Ms. DeSanti, Profesor H?bert, Profesor Huang and I al agreed that the wig neded 
to be restyled in a wider, fuller style without height in the bangs because they added 
too much length to Ms. DeSanti?s narrow facial features. 
 
Tech Wekend and Dres Rehearsals 
 
                                                 
32
 John Patrick Shanley, Savage in Limbo, New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1986, 
12. 
 
 33 
 
 I felt confidant going into tech wekend. I knew a few items would need more 
work, but they were not unmanageable.  The costumes were completly wearable, 
and my extensive revisions before tech reasured me.  Furthermore Ms. Wolf and I 
had taken the clothes into the light lab to test the gel colors on my fabrics, and I paid 
multiple visits to the paint shop to kep tabs on the paint colors as they developed.  
 I made one last minute change on Friday night before the rest of the design 
team saw the costumes.  I took away al of April?s acesories and asked her to wear 
the rehearsal sweater because it had become stretched out and had a magnificent 
coffee stain on it that I wanted to se on stage. 
 When I went to Ms. Madorno to make these requests, I had an unpleasant 
discovery waiting for me.  The peachy orange crinkle cotton dres did not fit her at 
al.  Despite the bra change, the dres was even tighter than the first time she tried it. I 
reasured Ms. Madorno that it must have shrunk in the wash, and I had a replacement 
dres I could give her Monday after I dyed it orange. She agreed to wear the il-fiting 
orange dres for tech in order to help Ms. Wolf make informed color decisions.   
 The show looked good on stage, but smal adjustments were stil necesary.  I 
was wrong about the rehearsal sweater.  The solid cream color was too hot under the 
lights and drew unneeded focus to April.  Ms. Wolf and I conferred with Profesor 
H?bert and decided to try a brown sweater instead.  It improved the color balance and 
the sweater had pockets, an added bonus that Ms. Madorno imediately took 
advantage of and began using in her performance.  
 The last change on Friday night was Tony?s shirts.  The white A-shirt and red-
toned silk shirt were not popping off the set.  He looked drab and did not match Ms. 
 
 34 
 
DeSanti's power on stage.  After looking at five more options, with the input of both 
Ms. Wolf and Mr. Van Wyk, we setled on the original silk charmeuse shirt from 
International Male.  I planned to dye it down Monday to take away some of the 
intensity and shorten the sleves.  The design team agreed those changes would help 
the color balnce. 
 Saturday morning I went shopping.  I found a belt with a huge, gaudy buckle 
and a black A-shirt for Tony.  The new belt and shirt helped develop the look, but my 
impulse to cut the long sleves down myself (instead of leaving it for the draper on 
Monday) made a huge difference in the intensity of the colors.  When we saw more of 
his arm, the shirt was les overwhelming.  However, the biggest improvement to help 
the shirt came from Ms. Wolf.  She adjusted her lights in a way that eliminated the 
need to dye it at al. 
 My final change on Saturday was again related to shoes. Mr. Wilson was stil 
not matching Ms. DeSanti's power, and Profesor H?bert asked me if I could solve 
the problem with a taler hel.  Nothing I pulled from stock worked.  Over our dinner 
break I repurchased the boots I had tried on Mr. Wilson a few weks back. They 
worked; both Profesor H?bert and I were relieved.  
 The anticipated item at Sunday night?s dres rehearsal was Ms. DeSanti?s wig.  
Unfortunately the stylist did not show up with the wig until the actors were caled to 
places. To make maters worse, the wig loked nothing like what I discussed with the 
stylist.  At the production meting that evening, Profesor H?bert and I both agreed 
the wig was more of a hindrance than a help and cut it from the show.  This worked 
 
 35 
 
out very wel; an excelent hairstyle was achieved by the second evening using the 
actor's hair. 
 Aside from the wig, Profesor Huang had only two concerns after dres 
rehearsal.  We discussed how neat Murk looked with his tie fully done up.  I 
explained that it was a character choice Mr. Getman had made and we agred to let it 
stand.  Her other concern was the fit of April?s dres, which we already had a plan in 
place to correct. Sue Chiang was able to step in and do an alteration, inserting an 
extra piece of material in the back to give the dres more ease across the bust.  Lisa 
Burges also pulled off a smal miracle by altering the leather pants, which both 
Profesor H?bert and I agreed needed a more streamlined fit on Mr. Wilson?s leg. Ms. 
Burges expertly handled taking them in through the leg without losing neded room 
in the hips and seat. 
 I made very few additional changes during dres rehearsals.  Because so many 
potential problems were corrected before we reached tech, the show was completd 
Tuesday evening, and I was pleased with the results. 
 
 36 
 
Chapter 4: Post-Production Self-Analysis 
 
 
 I think one of the most difficult chalenges any artist faces is being objective 
about their work because they have a close personal connection to it as the creator.  
This is even more difficult for theatre artists because we do not work alone, but rather 
we rely on one another to each do our part to take the show as far as it can go.  It is 
easy to swing to extremes when asigning responsibility for a production?s 
shortcomings, either placing al of it on other collaborators or heaping too much on 
one?s self. Looking back on Savage in Limbo, I think it was a solid show.  Now, with 
distance and a litle more perspective, I can se which of my choices worked, and 
what I could have adjusted. 
 
Costumes On Stage: What Worked 
 
  If presed to name my best moments in Savage in Limbo I would point to three: 
Linda?s costume, the way Murk and April worked with the set, and visual pairing 
through costumes.  
 Linda?s costume was my best individual look in the show; it visualy excited me 
as a designer.  In the end, she was the whole package.  Even the ruffles on her top that 
I feared would be dowdy worked.  The costume worked with the performer, the set 
and the lights.  Ms. DeSanti used every bit of the costume while she played the role, 
and it enhanced her work because each item I gave her was character driven. The 
balance of colors and textures among the pieces made her costume one of the most 
visualy interesting with the set and lights. The red top alowed her to stand out from 
 
 37 
 
the green wals but the similar value betwen the color of her shirt and the color of 
the wals gave her a unity with the environment. The blue jeans never got lost against 
the dark wood bar because they were of a higher value.  The textures in her costume 
also played a part in giving Linda a fairly unified look under most lighting conditions.  
She could walk though different areas, and while the colors would shift under the 
gels, the garments always looked good.  
 Of al of my design ideas, I think I was most succesful in unifying Murk and 
April with the bar, and isolating them from the people who came into it.  Working 
closely with Mr. Van Wyk through the color proces paid off in the look of Murk and 
April on the set.  Their colors were in harmony with the set without leting them get 
lost in the wals. Beyond color, their straightforward, practical style of dres and the 
natural materials were unified with the environment and separated them from the 
?outsiders? who were more dresed up, colorful, and wore a greater variety of 
textures and materials.  
 Finaly, I think I succeded at the concept of ?visual pairing?.  I typicaly dislike 
strongly linking couples and groups though their costumes unles it is a convention of 
the play?s period or style.  I think subtle visual pairing worked for this show because 
it was used not only as a way to pair couples (Linda and Tony, Murk and April), but 
also as a way of isolating Denise from the other characters.  I created the pairings 
through style, which I think is a more subtle technique than, for instance, color.  Tony 
and Linda were dresed in a style that was more up-to-date and trendy, with a focus 
on contrasting textures and more saturated colors.  Murk and April shared a unity 
through natural materials, les saturated colors and a clothing style that was clasic, 
 
 38 
 
with a nod to the past.  Denise was adrift with a look that did not match anyone else 
in the play.   She paired with neither the flashy Tony and Linda nor the utilitarian 
Murk and April. 
  
Costumes On Stage: What Didn?t Work 
 
 Like al art you never finish a design; you eventualy abandon it.  If I had this 
show to do al over again, I think there are three things I would have adjusted that I 
eventualy let go in this proces: Tony?s shirt, and Denise?s dres, and the color 
balance among the costumes. 
 The shirt we setled on for Tony was the best available solution, but looking 
back I now think I should have asked the shop to build my ideal shirt rather than 
insisting I would be able to find the perfect one.  I liked it most of the time, but when 
Tony went into certain areas of the set the lighting did unflatering things to the shirt.  
He looked great in the general look of the room, but under the harsher practical 
support the material?s sheen was feminine and washed out, creating a hot spot in the 
overal stage picture.  The lighting color change near the perimetr of the set did 
unatractive things to the shirt?s color when Tony was near the wals, especialy 
downstage left.  Because the colors of the shirt were al the same value, they blended 
more and the gel color gave them a sickly appearance. I realize I could have worked 
with Ms. Wolf more to solve the problem, but I also understand that she neded both 
practical support and her perimetr colors to acomplish her design goals. Knowing 
what I do now, I would have selcted a material with variety in both color and value 
 
 39 
 
to make the look ?pop?, and I would not have picked a fabric with a sheen.  
  Denise?s dres was les of a distinct problem than Tony?s shirt.  There were 
some nights it worked very wel, and other nights it felt wrong.  I think some of this 
was related to how the performance was going for Ms. Snyder (in terms of artistic 
idea) and some of it was the mechanics of a wrap dres. The bottom line is that no 
costume is perfect, but it should be able to take almost anything the actor throws at it.  
In hindsight, to correct the technical errors I should have asked the shop to build a 
dres to her measurements rather than altering an existing one. 
 Had the dres been technicaly perfect I am stil not sure if it was the best choice 
for the character, again this varied from night to night.  Profesor H?bert and I talked 
about this at one point during tech.  We both had a litle voice teling us something 
was not quite right.  We both generaly liked the dres, but neither of us could 
pinpoint the source of our reservations about it.  We let it go because it is impossible 
to correct a problem that cannot be identified.  I am stil thinking about the problem, 
and the closest I have come to identifying it is that the dres was too specific for the 
character.  She does not know who she is or what she wants, and maybe the dres did 
not serve as the ?blank canvas? for her to expres that.  Perhaps I chose a dres that 
commented on her character too much. 
 I was satisfied overal with the color relationship betwen the costumes and the 
other design elements, but there are very specific adjustments I would have made to 
enhance the stage picture.  There were moments when Denise was lost against the 
bar. I would have taken her dres closer to my rendering, a royal blue, rather than 
navy, and if the shop had built it I would have selcted a fabric with a very smal print 
 
 40 
 
to create more texture.  I think those adjustments would have helped her visual power 
when she put herself betwen Linda and Tony and made her generaly more visible 
on the set. 
 Also, to enhance visibility, I would have selcted a slightly darker value sweater 
for April.  I think it would have worked beter, balanced betwen the value of her 
dres and the value of the bar; instead it was slightly too close to the dres.  I also 
think that if the stripe in Murk?s shirt had been slightly stronger, it would have helped 
Ms. Wolf in her struggle to give Murk more dimension.  
  
Communication and Collaboration 
 
 Every designer faces chalenges as they develop and find their path as an artist.  
Some are eliminated quickly, and others take longer to surmount.  In my time as a 
student designer, I have ben working with Profesor Huang to improve my 
communication skils.  Clear comunication is the key that opens the door to good 
collaboration with the production team. 
 
The Director and Goal-Oriented Problem Solving 
 
 Profesor H?bert and I had an informal meting about Savage in Limbo months 
before our first Concept Meting.  One of the things we discussed was the difficulty 
of ?front loading? a design into a show before the rehearsals begin.  One of these 
chalenges is handling change in rehearsal when it inevitably happens.  The key to 
making this proces as easy as possible is remaining flexible and learning the goal the 
director wants to acomplish through the change.  I credit my work with Profesor 
 
 41 
 
H?bert for leading me toward this goal-oriented method of problem solving.  
 In the past I have had frustrating interactions with directors when handed a 
solution to something they wanted changed, especialy when the solution did not 
make sense in the context of the rest of the design.  I had one of these xperiences 
with Profesor H?bert the first time we changed Mr. Wilson?s shoes and Profesor 
H?bert requested loafers without socks.  I found a compromise that temporarily 
solved the problem, but in the end I needed to change the shoes again because I had 
not identified al of Profesor H?bert?s goals and balanced them with mine.  Working 
in this new style, by the end of tech, adjusting the show no longer felt like changing 
the design because very adjustment I made to met Profesor H?bert?s goals was 
balanced with my own. 
 I realize very director is different, and has a different communication style, but 
I think this goal-oriented approach can be a positive way to approach problem 
solving, especialy with someone you have not worked with before.   It lends itself to 
a new working relationship because both people come together and brainstorm, 
thereby learning to speak a common language. Furthermore, it embraces the 
collaborative nature of theatre and alows collaborators to comunicate respectfully 
and avoid micro-managing one another. 
 
The Design Team: Al for One, and One for Al 
 
 I have had a broad range of experiences collaborating with other designers in 
the past.  I have worked with designers with whom I could never find comon 
ground, and others I agred with entirely. My collaboration with Ms. Wolf and Mr. 
 
 42 
 
Van Wyk has been one of the most enjoyable I have experienced.  In addition to 
being talented artists they are forthright, empathetic, and deeply interested in the 
contributions of other designers on the team.  
 Mr. Van Wyk was always direct when we worked together.  He told me exactly 
what he was striving for in his design as wel as offering feedback on my own and 
giving me help whenever I asked for it.  While I was struggling with Tony?s shirt in 
tech, I sought his opinion.  Ms. Wolf and I were too close to the problems with color 
and value to se our solution.  Mr. Van Wyk urged me to be bold, and use the shirt I 
feared was too intense.  The choice went against our original color ideas, but Mr. Van 
Wyk?s understanding of the importance of the costume in supporting Tony?s 
character made it possible for me to bend our self-imposed color rules to good result. 
 Ms. Wolf is a skiled listener and great unifier, two talents I think go hand in 
hand.  She began creating the glue to solidify our design ideas early by supplementing 
her own research with ideas she picked out in the research Mr. Van Wyk and I 
presented.  She was also instrumental in solving my problems with Tony?s shirt.  
When we setled on one, I decided I would need to dye it to bring it more in the world 
of the set, and I discussed what direction Ms. Wolf would like me to take the color.  
When I returned to tech the next day, Ms. Wolf had eliminated that need through her 
lighting adjustments. 
 I think the most succesful part of our collaboration was that while our designs 
were individualy interesting they needed each other?and the performers?to be 
complet.  It is easy to have thre great visual ideas on stage that coexist, yet do not 
fully relate to one another.  It takes much more compromise and devotion to bring 
 
 43 
 
unity to the work of three artists. Savage in Limbo is an ensemble show?the lives of 
the characters interlock.  The design echoed the ensemble-style of the piece.  As each 
character in the ensemble has a moment to shine, so does each design elment.  
 
 
Diferent Actors, Diferent Neds 
 
 As a costume designer I communicate with actors directly, and there is an art to 
doing it wel.  Being friendly, profesional, and polite does not always mean you wil 
have a succesful interaction. I learned two valuable lesons about actor/designer 
collaboration on this show.  The first is to be more concerned about their neds than 
they need you to be, and the second is to just be yourself.  If I had followed these two 
precepts from the start, I would have had a much beter first fiting with Ms. DeSanti. 
 I take people at face value.  In Ms. De Santi?s first fiting I would ask her a 
question, she would answer positively, and I would move to the next topic.  If she 
asked me a question, I was similarly direct with her.  What I realized from her anxiety 
in the fiting is that she neded to be asked more than once how she felt about the 
costume pieces, the movement, and character.  Also I could take the cue from her and 
give her longer, more detailed answers because she found the extra information 
useful, not superfluous.  If I had simply emphasized my concern about her needs 
more, she would not have felt like I was disregarding her opinion. I need to tailor my 
atention level to what each actor wants, but it is beter to go too far, and then pul 
back than to not do enough.  
 I should handle my demeanor in a similar way.  I can be socialy awkward, and 
I try to control it by wearing my serious profesional face when I am working with 
 
 44 
 
new people.  I am learning that people would rather work with someone who shows 
their personality?quirks included?than a person who appears cold. Ironicaly, had I 
been more myself with Ms. DeSanti she probably would have ben more comfortable 
with me as a designer than she was while I was trying to ?act profesional.?  I ned to 
concern myself more with being friendly and easy to talk with and let the quality of 
my work show my profesionalism. 
 
The Costume Shop  
  
 Costume designers and costume technicians have the same goal: they want the 
shows they work on to look good.  As a designer, I have learned four valuable 
communication lesons that help make that goal happen: knowing who to ask, 
knowing when to ask, remaining open to suggestions, and being as articulate as 
possible. Because I purchased al of the costumes for Savage in Limbo, I had les 
interaction with the shop, but my experience on this show reinforced these principles. 
 When I wanted Tony?s leather pants taken in, I ended up with beautiful results 
because I was careful about how I approached the situation.  I waited until I knew the 
alteration was necesary and I spoke with Ms. Ragland first, leting her confirm Ms. 
Deighton?s workload.  As it happened, Ms. Deighton was too busy to make the 
changes herself.  By going to Ms. Ragland, I eliminated unnecesary anxiety for Ms. 
Deighton, and Ms. Burges stepped in to complet the job.  I was very clear about 
what I wanted?les material at the knee, and more negative space betwen his legs?
and Ms. Burges worked out her own solution to make the change happen. 
 Clarity about my neds also asisted me in geting the alteration Ms. Deighton 
 
 45 
 
was initialy hesitant to make on Denise?s dres. When I wanted the sleves changed, 
I stated my goal for the look and provided the Ms. Deighton with visual research from 
which to work.  By asking early, and giving her plenty of time to approach the 
project, Ms. Deighton and I were both happy. 
  
 
 
Life Lesons: Finding the Happy Medium 
 
 During my first semester at the University of Maryland Profesor Huang said 
something to me that I always keep in mind when designing or teaching a design 
clas.  A design needs to be burning hot or freezing cold, never in the middle.  The 
middle is boring.  This is true for designs but not for designers.  There is something 
positive to be said for the happy medium. 
 
Flexibility 
 
 I think every designer encounters difficulties with their level of flexibility, 
especialy early in their carer when they are les experienced.  With experience we 
learn where the line fals betwen too rigid and too easily swayed.  When I began 
designing at the university, I was too rigid because I could not communicate my ideas 
clearly.  Had I been beter able to expres myself, I would have spent les time 
wondering why my ideas were being misinterpreted and more time making my ideas 
work.   
 As I came to understand how to comunicate with others, I went too far the 
opposite direction and let myself lose sight of my ideas because I was trying too hard 
 
 46 
 
to be flexible and ?nice?.  I did a profesional show last summer that I was 
disatisfied with because, in my efforts to be pleasant and easy to work with, I let the 
director talk me out of my design ideas and push me towards recreating a previous 
production.   
I am beginning to se now that flexibility has different levels, and on most projects I 
wil need to fluctuate betwen different levels to acomplish my goals.  On Savage in 
Limbo I was rigid when I wanted my draper to alter a dres to my design, and I was 
given what I wanted because while I was firm I was also polite and very specific 
when I explained my neds.  I was flexible when Profesor H?bert and I could not 
agree on a direction for April, leting the dramaturg give me a whole new direction to 
take the character.  When I finished that journey, I had a design that was stil mine but 
could never have happened if I had not opened myself up to suggestions. 
 I have also learned that timing has an important impact on flexibility.  I am 
much more open to change when I have time to se how the new idea fits into the 
bigger picture.  In the past, when feling presured to make a snap decision without 
the opportunity to think it through, I would try to prevent the change.  Now, if I have 
not had the opportunity to give a change enough thought, I ask for time to think 
before choosing a solution.  ?Can I get back to you on that?? is the best question I 
have ever asked.  I find that ten minutes to myself to consider a problem yields a 
beter solution and happier colleagues. 
 
Maintainig Perspective 
 
 
 47 
 
 For a long time, Profesor Huang has told me not to take criticism personaly 
because it is a reflection of the work, not me as a person.  I have understood that for 
almost as long as she has been saying it, but she has continued to reiterate her point 
whenever we talk about a problem I am having.   During the pre-production period of 
Savage in Limbo I finaly realized that, while I did not consider criticism of my work 
a direct reflection on me, I stil took it far too seriously because I took my work too 
seriously.  Sadly it took the sudden, unexpected death of a family meber to shake 
me out of the mind set that my work is the most important thing in my life. 
 The design team had a meting scheduled the same day as the funeral.  
Profesor Huang excused me from it and informed David Kriebs that I could not 
atend.  Mr. Kriebs tried to reschedule the meting to a time earlier in the wek, not 
knowing why I could not atend.  When he approached me about my availability, it 
came to me?sometimes you have to say ?no?, and I did.  I surprised myself when I 
did that because I had put my work first for a long time, always striving to do the job 
perfectly.  It made me realize that I cannot have perfection every time I try 
something, and more than that, no one else expects me or my work to be perfect every 
step of the way.  Sometimes I wil need to reschedule metings and sometimes I wil 
need to buy thre pairs of shoes to find the perfect pair, but I cannot let each 
unexpected twist or turn become a struggle.  If I do, I wil never be able to do my job, 
which is what design is, a job.  It is a job I love, but I need to keep it in proper 
perspective.  
 
 
 
 48 
 
Conclusion 
    
 Looking back on my costume design for Savage in Limbo, I would consider 
the design succesful, even though there are things I think I could have done beter.  
Working through each problem ade me a beter designer because they increased my 
visual awarenes as wel as my ability to work with other people.   
 Designing this show was an imensely satisfying experience.  I am glad I had 
a smal, contemporary show for my last design at the University of Maryland.  In 
addition to it being radicaly different from the other shows I designed here, it gave 
me the opportunity to take time in considering each step I took and why I chose those 
steps to realize my design.  I think this heightened awarenes of my own actions wil 
help me as I transition from designing at the university to designing profesionaly.  
 
 
 
 49 
 
Apendix A: Visual Research 
 
Fig. 1 Research Image for Savage in Limbo 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 
Fig. 2 Research Image for Savage in Limbo 
Photo by Joann Calis 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
Fig. 3 Research Image for Savage in Limbo 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 
 
Fig. 4 Research Image for Savage in Limbo 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 51 
 
 
 
Fig. 5 Research Image for Savage in Limbo 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 
 
Fig. 6 Research Image for Denise Savage 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 
 52 
 
 
 
Fig. 7 Research Image for Denise Savage 
Photo by David Armstrong 
 
 
 53 
 
 
 
Fig. 8 Research Image for Denise Savage?Dres 
 
 
 54 
 
 
 
Fig. 9 Research Image for Denise Savage?Hair 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 
Fig. 10 Research Image for Linda Rotunda 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 
 56 
 
 
 
Fig. 11 Research Image for Linda Rotunda 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 
 57 
 
 
 
Fig. 12 Research Image for Linda Rotunda 
Photo by David Armstrong 
 
 
 58 
 
 
 
Fig. 13 Research Image for Linda Rotunda?Tops 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 
Fig. 14 Research Image for Linda Rotunda?Jeans 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
Fig. 15 Research Image for Linda Rotunda?Boots 
 
 
 61 
 
 
 
Fig. 16 Research Image for Linda Rotunda?Hair and Makeup 
 
 
 62 
 
 
 
Fig. 17 Research Image for Tony Aronica 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 
 
Fig. 18 Research Image for Tony Aronica 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 63 
 
 
 
Fig. 19 Research Image for Tony Aronica--Clothes 
 
 
 64 
 
 
 
Fig. 20 Research Image for April White 
Photo by Maud Schuyler Clay 
 
 
 65 
 
 
 
Fig. 21 Research Image for April White 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 
 
Fig. 22 Research Image for April White 
Photo by Nan Goldin 
 
 
 66 
 
 
 
Fig. 23 Research Image for April White?Dres 
 
 
 67 
 
 
 
Fig. 24 Research Image for Murk 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 
 
Fig. 25 Research Image for Murk 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 68 
 
 
 
Fig. 26 Research Image for Murk 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 
 69 
 
 
 
Fig. 27 Research Image for Murk 
Photo by Philip-Lorca diCorcia 
 
 
 70 
 
 
 
Fig. 28 Research Image for Murk?Clothes 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 
Fig. 29 Research Image for Murk?Shoes 
 
 
 72 
 
Apendix B: Costume Renderings 
 
 
 
Fig. 30 Denise Savage 
Costume Rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 73 
 
 
 
Fig. 31 Linda Rotunda 
Costume rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 74 
 
 
 
Fig. 32 Tony Aronica (Final Color Version) 
Costume Rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 75 
 
 
 
Fig. 33 Tony Aronica (Color version One) 
Costume rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 
Fig. 34 Tony Aronica (Color version Two) 
Costume rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 76 
 
 
 
Fig 35 April White (Final Version) 
Costume Rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 77 
 
 
 
Fig. 36 April White (Alternate Version One) 
Costume Rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 
Fig. 37 April White (Alternate Version Two) 
Costume Rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 
 78 
 
 
 
Figure 38 Murk 
Costume Rendering by Yvete M. Ryan 
 
 79 
 
Apendix C: Production Photographs 
 
 
 
Fig. 39 Lindsey Snyder as Denise. 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 40 Mai DeSanti as Linda, Lindsey Snyder as Denise, Tim Getman as Murk 
Photo by Stan Barouh. 
 
 
 
 
 81 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 41 Mai DeSanti as Linda, Lindsey Snyder as Denise, Tim Getman as Murk 
Photo by Stan Barouh. 
 
 
Fig. 42 Lindsey Snyder as Denise. (front) Tim Getman as Murk,  
Tiernan Madorno as April 
Photo by Stan Barouh. 
 
 82 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 43 Chris Wilson as Tony, Tim Getman as Murk, Mai DeSanti as Linda 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 
 83 
 
 
 
Fig. 44 Mai de Santi as Linda, Chris Wilson as Tony 
Photo by Stan Barouh. 
 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 
 
Fig. 45 Chris Wilson as Tony 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 
 85 
 
 
 
Fig. 46 Tim Getman as Murk, Tiernan Madorno as April 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 
 
Fig. 47 Tim Getman as Murk, Tiernan Madorno as April 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 86 
 
 
 
 
Fig. 48 Tiernan Madorn as April 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 
 87 
 
 
 
Fig. 49 Tiernan Madorno as April, Lindsey Snyder as Denise,  
Tim Getman as Murk (back) 
Photo by Stan Barouh 
 
 88 
 
 
 
Fig. 50 Set Design by Eric Van Eyk, Lighting Design by Rebeca Wolf 
 
 89 
 
Apendix D: Suporting Paperwork 
 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 
 91 
 
 
 92 
 
 
Bibliography 
 
Arbiter, January/February1984, Vol. 57, No. 1.  Milan: Rusconi Publications, 1984. 
 
Armstrong, David. David Armstrong?The Silver Cord.  New York: Scalo, 1997. 
 
Coe, Robert.  ?The Evolution of John Patrick Shanley.?  American Theatre; Nov 
2004,  Vol. 21, No. 9, 22-29. 
 
Diamond, Robert.  ?2005 Tony Awards Q&A: John Patrick Shanley.? June 3, 2005. 
http:/ww.broadwayworld.com/viecolumn.cfm?colid=3414 (acesed 09 March 
2006)  
 
diCorcia, Philip-Lorca.  A Storybook Life.  Santa Fe: Twin Palms Publishers, 2003. 
 
Galsi, Petr.  Pleasures and Terors of Domestic Comfort.  New York: Museum of 
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