We recently connected with Allison Winsby and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Allison thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of my favorite projects I have gotten to work on was designing costumes/hair/makeup for a recent production of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Sweeney Todd is a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. The show is set in the Victorian Era and tells the story of a Barber who has recently escaped from prison and is searching for his family to be reunited while seeking revenge and committing murder with the aid of his accomplice Mrs. Lovett and some meat pies along the way. This show is really special to me because it is one that I never saw myself designing because of the darker content but pleasantly surprised myself with this one. It was refreshing and fun to tell a more complex story with a deep meaning and complex symbolism. One of the challenged I came across is how well-known the show is which provides some expectations from the audience. Some traditions and expectations that I wanted to break. As a designer, I really work to create creative and original concepts and don’t want to just do what was done before. For our production we did choose to set it in the tradition victorian era, but with a twist. As a creative team, we went with the late 1840’s but in hell, and the idea that the characters are stuck living in the eternal cycle of living the story over and over again in a loop and cannot escape.
The show has so much symbolism and such strong themes and characters relationships that I really wanted to incorporate that into the costumes. One way that I went about doing this was through the bird symbolism within the show. I wanted to incorporate the bird motifs in a more abstract way, so I did this through created abstract surrealist hats and crinolines that were built to look like bird cages and were an open frame that you could see right through. All of the characters wearing the pieces were in control of the main character, Sweeney Todd, at some point during the musical, further communicating the ideas of manipulation and the facade fading away.

Another unique idea that I incorporated into the design was the use of the color green. Traditionally the character Johanna, Sweeney Todd’s daughter and Anthony’s love interest, wears a white dress. I wanted to change this because I felt like white symbolizes innocence and purity, but there is so much more to Johanna than just that, and she is a bit manipulative herself, There is more to that character than people giver credit. I ended up going with green because Arsenic green was not only a very popular color of the time period, but Arsenic was the poison that her mother Lucy/The Beggar Woman took, so I used the color on all 3 characters to give them a connection, especially since we do not know that Beggar Woman’s true identity until it is revealed at the end of the show.

Sweeney is the show where I feel like I really found my style as a designer and began to understand how it can translate across different genres.

Allison , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a costume, wig, and makeup designer currently based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where I am finishing up my BFA in Design and Production with an emphasis in Costume Design at Oklahoma City University’s School of Theatre and will graduate in December of this year. As a designer, I Strive to bring a detail oriented, fresh, and creative approach with surrealist influence and a whimsical style that brings a unique approach to storytelling. I have worked on shows in various production positions such as: Sweeney Todd, She Stoops to Conquer, The Magic Flute, Silent Sky, The Book of Will, Fun Home, Sunday in the Park with George, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Hansel and Gretel, and many more.

As a kid I was always into art and fashion. I LOVED to draw and paint (and still do) and just create. I always chose art as an elective at school and it was always something I loved. In middle school I was in the school play and caught the theatre bug, but it wasn’t until high school that I discovered costume design. My freshman year of high school my drama teacher asked me if I wanted to help with costumes for the middle school production of Seussical because she thought that I might like it because of my background in art and from that point on I was hooked. After that, I continued to work on costumes in high school then started college at the University of Central Missouri before transferring to OCU where I am now. Since then I have designed at the college level and have also worked on professional productions.

To give a little window into my process, I usually start by reading the script and exploring source material and doing some dramaturgical research. I then make a show playlist to listen to while I work on it and will continue to add to it throughout the process, some songs just generally remind me of the show, others of the characters, and some are thongs that I think certain characters would listen to, I then make a college of emotion/insprirational research which consists of art, quotes, colors, etc that help create a general mood/aesthetic for the show. At this point I dive into historical/conceptual research collages, depending on the show, then I more onto individual character mood boards, rough sketches, and then renderings. I also create paperwork that communicates which clothing items are in the show, when they are being worn, and how they are being sourced. Then I collaborate with the cutter/draper and costume technicians to get the show built and I pull and source costumes as well as assisting with the build process as needed.

One of the shows that I am most proud of is She Stoops to Conquer. She Stoops To Conquer is an 18th century comedy of manners following a couple of storylines revolving around the Hardcastle Family and the comedic mistakes that happen throughout the night with themes of love, family, and generational change. This show was special because I love diving into historical research, and being set in 1773, I really got to explore the period and create beautiful period clothing for such silly and fun characters.

After I graduate in December, I plan to begin my career as a freelance Costume/Wig/Makeup Designer.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a costume designer is getting to be a part of telling these stories. As theatre artists we are story tellers and it’s not just about my design and my art, but about visually communicating who these characters are and collaborating with other designers, technicians, and actors to tell a story. My favorite part of the process is always the final dress rehearsal, because the show is pretty much complete and it’s no longer about taking notes and problem solving, but at that point you get to just take it all in and watch the story come to life, and get to watch and audience watch and react the production for the first time (if it’s a preview).

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission as a designer is to tell tell stories in a fresh creative way in a whimsical style that incorporates surrealism and symbolism to capture the story and create visual interest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://allisonwinsbydesign.wixsite.com/portfolio
• Instagram: @awinsby.designs
• Linkedin: Allison Winsby
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Personal Photo Credit (Photo of Allison with the fabric wall, rendering, and pink dress): Photographer: Tess Rosen Sweeney Todd Credits (Photo of the girl in the green dress and man in blue suit and the photo of the woman in gray dress and man in brown vest): Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Director: David Herendeen, Scenic Designer: Jason Foreman, Costume/Hair/Makeup Designer: Allison Winsby, Lighting Design: Preston Hunt, Properties Design: Tess Rosen, Sound Design: Jacob Henry, Photographer: Michael Anderson She Stoops to Conquer Photo Credits (Photo of the girls in 18th century pink and blue dresses): She Stoops To Conquer. Director: Lance Marsh, Scenic Designer: Jason Foreman, Costume/Hair/Makeup Designer: Allison Winsby, Lighting Designer: Jackson Maner, Properties Designer: Tess Rosen, Sound Designer Jacob Henry, Photographer: Bryan Cardinal-Powell The Magic Flute Photo Credit (Photo of the girl in the blue gown and the girl in the white ombre dress): The Magic Flute, Director: Cynthia Stokes, Scenic Designer: Robin Vest-Coleman, Costume/Hair/Makeup Designer: Allison Winsby, Lighting Designer: Preston Hunt, Properties Designer: Larry Heyman, Photographer: Wendy Mutz Costume Renderings: Costume Renderings by: Allison Winsby