Paul Foltz may not think of himself as a multi-tasker, but what else can you call someone who can sit at a sewing machine and stitch together a vest with perfection while conversing about sequins and silk with an interviewer?
Of course, all of this is second nature to Foltz, who has served as costumer for more than 30 years at Theatre Harrisburg. And, if numbers are of any consequence, he estimates he has costumed more than 500 shows. The glitter, the glamour, the fittings—Foltz has seen it all. And he has no fashion background. His training is completely in costume design.
And, yes, there is a difference.
“Although the principles of good design are the same, a costume designer has to be much more involved in creating a cohesive look within the confines of a given production and in collaboration with the other show designers and the director,” says Foltz, a native of Steelton who now lives in Carlisle. “Fashion, especially today, is dictated by the season, trend and color forecasts, as well as by the customer profile that is to be your target market.”
It was during high school that Foltz began doing costumes and was involved in a summer theater group about to perform the musical “Camelot.” Wardrobe was running behind schedule, and Foltz had asked what he could do to help. He was taught the basics of operating a sewing machine and piecing out a garment. The rest, as they say, is history.
“I have a continuous fascination with the past and how they created things—art, architecture, furniture, accessories, jewelry as well as clothing,” Foltz says. “That moved into an appreciation of the great designers of the various eras and the styles of the various decades.”
Foltz loves the period shows, those plays taking place in, say, the 19th century, depicting an era of manners when the clothing was grand and formal and fun. He loves getting involved in the detail that a show like “The Importance of Being Earnest” demanded when he costumed it for HACC. For shows like this, there are also undergarments and corsets to consider, and let’s not forget the beading. No easy task.
“My best work has to be the small-scale period shows where I can really dig in and create pieces that look correct, function well and are an asset to the production,” he says. “Notice that I didn’t say the most beautiful. The best costume is the one that works in the show, and sometimes they can be pretty out there, but they are just right for the production.”
One Theatre Harrisburg production that is at the top of Foltz’s list of favorites is “The Lion in Winter,” a play set in 12th-century England for which he built everything from the underwear to the shoes. Others that Foltz has enjoyed costuming include “The Secret Garden,” “Curtains,” “Once Upon A Mattress” and some Gilbert and Sullivan productions.
On average, costuming a full-scale musical costs $4,000, while a play is half that amount. Character shoes, a simple style of shoe worn by actors for dance and performance, costs $45 to $70.
At this writing, Foltz was working on creating and gathering costumes for Theatre Harrisburg’s upcoming production of “Sweeney Todd,” which ran through May 11. It required, in Foltz’s words, apparel that was “old, ratty, dirty and dingy.” Yet, it still had to have style and reflect the play’s time period and location.
Along with Theatre Harrisburg and HACC, Foltz has costumed shows at Washington College in Maryland.
“There are very few theaters in the area that I haven’t designed for or who haven’t borrowed some of my costumes to use in their own productions, of which I am very glad,” he says. “It is good to know that what I am doing is of value and use to other theaters, as well as to Theatre Harrisburg.”
