Intimate Apparel Play Guide - Actors Theatre of Louisville

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Play Synopsis In 1905 Manhattan, Esther Mills sews beautiful corsets for a living. Her art and talent have earned her economic independence rare for an unmarried woman of color and allows her access to diverse social worlds. In segmented Victorian New York, a black prostitute, a white millionaire matron and an Orthodox Jewish merchant would never meet, but through her work Esther befriends all three. Prostitute Mayme and Esther both enjoy financial independence, but Mayme’s race, class, and profession prevent her from becoming a concert pianist. Society matron Mrs. Van Buren will lose her privileged life if she leaves her loveless marriage. Fabric merchant Mr. Marks must choose between his faith and his romantic attraction to Esther. Panama Canal Approximately 800,000 ships have passed through the Panama Canal since its completion in 1914. Fifty-one miles in length, the canal’s path pushes through Central America’s Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its construction was a long, dangerous process plagued by fatal landslides and disease. However, the canal’s completion is celebrated as one the most successful engineering feats in history. A ship sailing from the East to the West coast of the United States will save over 13,000 miles! At thirty-five Esther has no suitors, but yearns for physical and emotional intimacy. Her landlady, Mrs. Dickson, urges Esther to marry respectably, but the seamstress corresponds with George Armstrong, a Barbadian laborer who is helping build the Panama Canal. Esther, illiterate, asks her clients to write in her stead, and as the correspondence grows more passionate, George proposes to Esther and moves to New York to marry her. But each has misled the other, and both are disappointed by the person they’ve married. Race and immigrant bias prevent George from finding work, and he struggles with his role of provider. Desperate, he asks Esther for her entire savings. He gambles away the money and abandons her. Esther moves back to the boarding house and begins to rebuild her dreams. Cast of Characters: Esther Mills 35, African American seamstress Mrs. Dickson 50, African American proprietor of boarding house for unmarried women Mrs. Van Buren 30s, white wealthy socialite Mr. Marks 30s, Romanian Jewish immigrant, textile merchant Post-Show Discussion Questions The idea that there is something wrong with a woman if she is not married resonates throughout Intimate Apparel. Consider Ester, Mrs. Van Buren, and Mayme. How do each of these women either accept or reject this idea? Is this opinion still relevant in today’s society? At the end of the play Ester is left alone smiling at her sewing machine. Why is this image important? What do you think Ester’s future holds? Mayme 30s, African American prostitute and dance hall performer George 30s, black laborer from Barbados Top: Spirella factory floor, 1910. Opened in 1909, the workforce consisted entirely of women. Above: Wedding corset, 1905.
CAREERS IN THEATRE Margret Fenske, Costume Shop Manager Margret Fenske, Actors Theatre’s Costume Shop Manager, surfaced from a sea of petticoats and overcoats to share memories of her many years of costuming, and particularly of her nine years at Actors. Margret found a passion for costuming at an early age. At seven years old, she entered a series of contests to design clothes for characters in a favorite comic strip, and she won several times. Her mother, a gifted seamstress, encouraged Margret to play with fabric left over from sewing projects. Margret still loves playing with fabric. Though she spends much of her day ordering supplies and recording purchases, she particularly enjoys costume construction. Margret is a draper, the person who brings to life the designer’s ideas. The designer decides what colors, textures, and shapes will clearly communicate the director’s interpretation of the play. The designer then draws the costume and gives that drawing, called a rendering, to the draper. The draper studies this rendering and recreates the design three-dimensionally by arranging cloth around a mannequin, gathering and pinning the material into the desired shape. This shape, known as the mock-up, is the draft for the final costume. The draper marks each pleat and dart with a laundry pen or tape, and then unpins the fabric, removing it from the mannequin and laying it flat on the table. Guided by the marks on the fabric the draper cuts the pattern for the actual costume. Draping is challenging; the mock-up must not only visually recreate the rendering, it must be a functioning garment that allows the actor full physical expression. Costumers prefer the term “building” to “sewing.” Margret says the substitution cuts to the heart of her work: “There’s a lot more artistry in bringing something to life from the ground up than going out to the mall, buying a dress, and changing the hem or sleeves. The eyes light up when it’s a build; there’s more input, more things people get to do to make it special.” Margret relishes especially challenging builds; among her favorite historical fashions are the “intricate carved sleeves” of the 1830’s; “the patterns are just wild,” Margret says, and she loves “the challenge of figuring out how they did what they did . . . doing the research and finding out how it was done in the first place.” This season’s production of Intimate Apparel brings the sewing machine from costume shop to stage. Like Margret, for protagonist Esther Mills sewing is both the source of her income and her art. Playwright Lynn Nottage makes tailoring and corsetry central metaphors, and describes Esther’s beloved fabrics in sensual detail. Margret is delighted to be working on a production that so thoughtfully explores her craft, and the stitchers and designers have been talking about Intimate Apparel “since the beginning of the year.” The shop is busy browsing specialty catalogs and Internet sites for delightful relics like spoon busks (curved pieces of wood or whalebone slotted into the bodice to keep the back straight). Margret is always excited when the fabric and trim orders arrive. “It’s like Christmas! But all the stuff has to be inventoried . . . so it’s a little while before we get to play.” #15 from The Migration Series Another cause was lynching. It was found that where there had been a lynching, the people who were reluctant to leave at first left immediately after this. ’ New York City, 1908
Page 1: WRITING PORTFOLIO Note for teachers
Page 5 and 6: JACOB LAWRENCE Between 1890 and 190

Intimate Apparel Play Guide - Actors Theatre of Louisville

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