Staci Martin is a costume designer in Southern Utah. She has worked with St. George Dance Company, Santa Clara City Shakespeare in the Park, and St. George Musical Theater. She talks about her work in the interview below.
Check out her work on
Instagram: @stacikmartin
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How did you first get interested in costume design?
Ever since I was little I always loved dressing up. I think I naturally have an artistic eye so I gravitate toward creative outlets. I taught myself how to sew about 16 years ago, by sewing baby stuff and some clothing for myself. Halloween was always a big deal for me. I started costuming for fun with a group of friends where we did themed photoshoots, then that connected me to the St.George Dance Company which I costumed for, for about 8 years. Then that led me into theater costuming, which I have been heavily involved in now for 6 years.
Who or what are some of your biggest influences as a designer?
Along with grabbing inspiration from other productions of shows, there are so many influences now a days with social media I like to draw from. I follow a lot of costume makers, time period enthusiasts, and theater companies on social media. It’s fun to see other people’s processes and designs.
Can you walk us through your process when starting a new production?
A lot of my process has a lot to do with the director’s point of view and vision and working closely with the rest of the design team. I like to obviously research any show I design for. What time period are we in, what are the characteristics of each character, is there a lot of dancing which will require certain movement in their costumes, etc?
Where do you usually start — with research, sketches, fabric swatches, something else?
Once I’ve researched what the show is about, I like to explore other designs and draw inspiration from lots of different images and then put my own spin on it. If the show is set in a certain time period, I will research that time period. Look through fashion designs from that time. Once I figured out what I want my character to wear I will see if we have stuff already in our costume inventory first. Then I’ll shop for certain things and then I’ll go into what items I’ll make from scratch. Because I am limited on resources and it’s usually just me doing the whole show myself, most times I have to work with what I have. Then I sketch my designs and turn them into reality.
How do you use costume to help tell a character’s story or show their development?
Once I have an idea of what I want my character to wear for certain scenes. I like to develop a costume plot for each character and what they need for each scene. I typically like to associate each character with a certain color palette. I love color theory. Where the color tells the story of that character’s personality. For example, I recently costumed Romeo and Juliet. I had all the Capulet characters in warm tones and all of the Montague characters in cool tones. Mostly to distinguish the difference between the two families. Romeo called Juliet “the sun” and she called him “the stars.” I wanted the warm tones of the sun to reflect in Juliet’s dresses so golds, reddish pinks. The cool tones of the stars and night in Romeo, so silver and blues.
Are there any small details you include in your costumes that the audience might not consciously notice but that deepen the storytelling?
I do love putting in the little details that the audience may not even notice. Embroidering small sunburst into Juliet’s dress in Romeo and Juliet, or adding an edelweiss broach to Captain Von Trapp’s jacket in The Sound of Music or hand-stitching school crest patches on the uniforms in Matilda. If a character ages, I like to have a subtle change in their fashion as they age. I also like to match the love interest in some form. For example, Fanny in Funny Girl I had her wear a lot of greens and cool tones, and I changed Nick’s tie from red colors to green colors once he met her.
What has been one of the most challenging costumes or productions you’ve worked on, and how did you overcome the challenges?
I can’t think of a real challenging production, maybe a difficult actor here or there or the lack of budget or time to create what I really want? Sometimes I’m not very inspired or excited about a show, which makes things challenging. In the end I always seem to pull it all together.
What’s a costume you’re especially proud of, and why?
The ones I build from scratch. I loved Guinevere’s dresses I made for Camelot. I also really loved Morticia’s dress and the ancestors in Addams Family. Peter in Peter Pan, Jr. The Von Trapp kids’ curtain outfits in The Sound of Music. It is always fun to get overly creative with costumes rather than just something time period. My most recent work on Romeo and Juliet has to be my top at the moment. I sewed from scratch a majority of all the costumes.
Is there a dream production, period, or genre you would love to design for?
I really would love to do more fantastical costumes. Being able to create out of this world characters is a lot of fun. I also would like to do more Renaissance era. I would like to take a stab at an extravagant onstage quick change.
If you could give the audience a “secret tip” about what to look for in the costumes, what would it be?
Mostly not to look too closely, haha…every costumer has their insecurities about something when it comes to their costumes. Is the hemline crooked, is something pinned because it ripped, can you see the snaps or Velcro holding the quick change together. As much as I would love the audience to see the small details, I would just as much not like them to see all the imperfections as well.
What do you hope audiences feel or think when they see your costumes on stage?
I would like my work to be visually appealing and complement the characters, so I would hope the audience gets that when they see what I create. Every decision made about a character’s look is intentional.