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| Martha Acuņa works on a costume for The Marriage of Figaro (photo by DA) |
Martha Acuña has a passion—she loves to problem solve for effective costume solutions. Acuña, manager of costume design for Theatre Arts, has been recognized for her work by the arts community, winning four Annie awards for her contributions in the advancement of performing arts. She is currently working on designing costumes for The Marriage of Figaro, with Ying Yeh as opera director.
Designing costumes for an opera is a difficult task. Acuña believes that the biggest challenge is "finding dimension for characters who are flat in relation to a musical score." Acuña sometimes uses videos of former productions to increase her understanding of characters. Using previous productions can risk originality, but Acuña believes the risk is balanced by the resource.
"You become addicted," she said. "It's a problem solver's dream quest." Acuña relentlessly looks for solutions and spends hours delving into books to obtain even the smallest of details that will enhance a character. Costuming is a key component of overall character development. "If the setting is especially minimal, costumes communicate to a viewer before anything else." For example, a black backdrop and four colored cubes provide an opportunity for the costumes to show weather conditions, social strata, and historical context.
Acuña works closely with her opera director whose needs and desires must be determined. "Constant dialogue is necessary." said Acuña. "The needs of the whole outweigh the needs of the one."
Acuña is dedicated to doing all of the work so that an audience need only sit back and enjoy. An audience can do that only after Acuña has put in hundreds of hours traveling and searching for authentic but wearable and historically accurate fabrics.This means sketching and detailing for the right statement and definition of character; most of all, it means that all the actors must be efficiently and properly attired, which is achieved through several fittings, stage rehearsals, and luck.
For Acuña there is such a thing as sweating off stage and on. It's like the old saying, "it ain't over 'til it's over." A costume can be finished, yet there is always the possibility of disaster on stage, which demands she be on hand to remedy it. When finally on stage, costumes can prove too constraining, or clash with the lights, or be unmaneuverable within the set. But a designer-turned-costumer can calm the chaos, and Acuña does just that.
Acuña received her M.F.A. in Costume Design from the California Institute of Arts in Valencia. She spent a year and a half at Pacific Coast Performing Arts before coming to CSU, Chico to manage the costume shop.
The workload is strenuous—Acuña has had to design costumes for up to nine shows a semester while instructing student assistants. "It's not the Met—but it's got to be convincing," she said, "and that's a pretty big miracle given the budget and time constraints everyone works under." Acuña, whose work is her passion, considers it to be a healthy addiction.
DA