Two Free Tickets to Spring Awakening at Raleigh Little Theater

Interested in winning a pair of free tickets to Spring Awakening at Raleigh Little Theater? Leave a comment below for two tickets, Sunday, October 6 at 3 pm. To be honest, it's not a play I'm very familar with as it's a German play, but it's won a lot a awards so likely is pretty good. It also has a steamy back story as it was banned where it was written for a number of year because of overt sexuality. Granted this was 200 years ago and tastes change, but it promises to be entertaining and most of the tickets have already sold out. The drawing will be next Friday, September 27th. Have a great day people and feel free to enter.

4 Free Tickets to The Brementown Musicians

          Hey guys, it's that time of month again where we give away free tickets for the upcoming play. This time we are giving away an entire family's worth of tickets so both you and the kids can have a night out. Four free tickets to the Brementown Musicians. This is a classic retelling of a Grimm Fairy Tale. I'm so excited over the costumes.

           The show date is Thursday, May 2nd from 7:30-9:00 pm. Simply leave a comment on the blog or facebook to enter. We will have a drawing for one lucky reader on Friday, April 5th.

            Have a great week!

Behind the Scenes Look at the Importance of Being Earnest

                                   Hey guys, thought you might enjoy a small behind the scenes pass to the upcoming Raleigh Little Theater Play, The Importance of Being Earnest. One of the great things I love about theater is you get to create over the top pieces there's no way you could sell for a living. Take this over the top yellow number. All that yellow and pink! Crazy. I'm trying to put together a behind the scenes tour for people who are not familar with a theater costume shop to enjoy. There's something about this process which is a little like weaving together magic.
                                    I love how this place shakes the cobwebs of my daily routine from me and let's me just experience a small sense of wonder. Oh and this photo comes to you courtesy of my friend and patternmaker, Heather Meadows. I always forget to take pictures. If anyone is interested in hiring her for costume/patternmaking work, feel free to e-mail me at: dsmcginn1@lisashay.com.

Textile Friday: Professional Home Textile Repairs

                   Buttonhole thread. Actually if you remember nothing else I say from the next few weeks, remember that. It's the difference in hand-sewing at home between stuff that falls apart and traditional tailored clothing which is made to last the centuries. Look right. See this. This is buttonhole thread. It's what professional shops use to make their hand repairs last.
                   The beloved favorite of shops in the US has always been Rice's Silamide and it's expensive and sold in amounts WAY too much to be practical for the average home sewer. I know theater majors who talk about this stuff with open lust as being out of their department's budget. If you love theater and want to improve shows you personally see, spring for some of this stuff in bulk and watch the costume room faces light up in your beloved theater.
              Because your secret is it is sold in every major beading store probably in the nation in small 40 yard stock cards you can buy for $1-2 including some lovely samplers for $9 on Etsy, Overstock, etc. which offer a dozen major colors for under $10. This and a couple of good needles is all you need to do the repairs I'm going to show you over the next few weeks. No fancy machine. No breaking the bank. No hours laboring to create the perfect x or y.

                    Ah, but you say, I want something historical or traditional and cost is no object, well...allow me to let you feast your eyes upon kimono silk. This is also often called filament silk thread. I know some of my friends will spring the extra $ (These packs are $2.50 each online) for the fussy fabrics or when they want beautiful invisible stitches. Great stuff silk thread. Strong. Flexible. Made to last. It's been used by every major culture to my knowledge for thousands of years because it works. Everyone always mentions the needle as their weapon of choice, but for me it's thread. Well, I'm off to do some spring cleaning. Happy St. Patty's Day.

Shop Joy

                  Lately, I've really been failing in the taking pictures, writing, and general posting stuff I'm making part to the blog. In the midst of all the overwork, I got this great e-mail from a friend about teaching their son, Nick to sew costumes two weeks ago after he dropped by Raleigh Little Theater to hang out for a night. We went over the basics at Raleigh Little Theater on selecting and making custom costumes then an hour later, it was handshake time and out the door. They have some great home sewing machines which I do not personally own which are easier for the average sewer to pick up. Thanks Jen!
                Today I got photos. It really could not have been more welcome. So many times, I second-guess myself as an introvert if I am having my intended impact on students or those around me. Today was a nice reminder that sometimes an hour here or there is helpful for those around us to follow our dreams. I don't know that I'm ready to back to teaching anytime in the future or carving out time for personal project, but here ya go. When was the last time you underestimated the importance of an hour with someone else in your life? Now one more person knows how to create a little more beauty in the world than they did a month ago.
             Thank you people for reminding me of the little things in life! Have a great day! And check out Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Raleigh Little Theater opening this weekend. The shirt here is one of the seven dwarfs (it should very familar for everyone who goes). Will try and take more photos next show.

PS- Paul Wentworth for the photos.

Congradulations to Paul Wentworth

              You are the winner for 2 Tickets to go see the Importance of Being Earnest!

Snow White Winner: Paul Wentworth

      Happy Monday and congratulations to Paul Wentworth. You are the proud owner of 2 tickets to the upcoming Snow White at Raleigh Little Theater. Have a great week everyone!

Free Dress Rehearsal Tickets to Snow White

     Hey Everyone, hope you haven't been missing me on the blog. I've been busy piecing together a few projects. I didn't want to mention anything before in case they didn't come off as it can be a roller-coaster weeding opportunities that fly across one's desk from the actual working reality of projects that come off. I am so pleased to announce that I will be starting to work one evening at week in the costume shop at Raleigh Little Theater. The current show is Snow White and is a re-telling of the classic fairytale from the Wicked Queen's perspective (Oh the costumes!). I will hopefully be having some fun taking photos (a wonderful backstage pass) and sewing mayhem. If you are new to the area and not yet familar with Raleigh Little Theater, it is one of the oldest operating theaters in the country located in the Rose Garden a couple of blocks from NC State Campus. I've dreamed of working in their costume shop for years and creating magic, now it looks like I have my chance. One of the big things I like about Raleigh Little Theater is how almost all of their costumes are still made from SCRATCH including the wigs and hats. Hopefully a good chance to work on my tailoring skills and improve my knowledge of different time periods and costumes.
           There's a certain hesitation in ready-to-wear to try to be inspired by history instead of slavishly copying it. While I love this practicality that clothes must first and foremost always be wearable, I've often longed to have an excuse to create objects of wonder just because they make one smile. Now, I get a chance to. I hope that you too enjoy the ride. Speaking of ride, the reason for today's post: Nash and I get free comp tickets for every shop apparently and I have 2 extra for the full dress rehearsal of Snow White at the end of the month February 27th and 28th which I am giving away on the blog this week. To enter for a chance to win, simply post a comment on the blog about why you love drama or theater. I will pick one lucky winner to announce next week on Monday, February 11th. Have a great week everyone!