BWW Interviews: Barry Doss Takes Us Behind The Scenes of Stages Repertory Theatre's MARIE ANTOINETTE

I was lucky to get so much of Barry Doss' time. He is resident Costume Designer for Dance at Sam Houston State University and Stages Repertory Theatre's upcoming production of MARIE ANTOINETTE. When I called, he was in his workshop in Huntsville patterning and cutting. Fresh off Broadway, by way of Fort Worth, Texas, he came home to Houston last spring - February to be exact - and immediately got to work on the anachronistic beauty that is MARIE ANTOINETTE.

the enduring allure of
MARIE ANTOINETTE

BWW: How do you think the audiences will respond to your designs? I heard Stages was doing MARIE ANTOINETTE and immediately got excited about the costume choices. It's MARIE ANTOINETTE!

Barry Doss: That's a good question. The way I'm working with the audience response is knowing that the audience is going to have an expectation. My feeling is that their expectation is silhouette and a sort of lavish feeling. I think that if I can give them those two things, I think they will be happy, and they will immerse themselves into the story being told.

BWW: Tell me about the play itself.

Barry Doss: What's great about the play is it humanizes her. Marie Antoinette was born into that life. When she was fourteen years old, before she was even fully educated, her mother married her off. She's never given the opportunity to realize herself. She's just like a doll. To some degree, especially when you think about her horrible end, she gets a raw deal. She is sacrificed for the revolution.

Charles Dickens says in his book, A Tale of Two Cities, that the people of France began trading their crucifixes for guillotines. That meant that they were no longer wearing small charms of crosses. They were wearing little guillotines. So, when Marie Antoinette dies at the end, there's almost a Christ-like comparison to be made. But, in the end, she doesn't become a god, she becomes human.

For me, the playwright is partly saying that we often put a lot of pressure on our celebrities and our leaders as if it's fully their responsibility. We are part of the world expressing itself. But, and I don't condone her end, the inequality and the inequity of wealth was so out of control. It's very important for us to look back and consider these things.

BWW: Do you think there is a modern day corollary?

Barry Doss: Absolutely, the 1 percent. Leslie Swackhamer, our director, has been reminding us that the world we live in, particularly American culture, is not that different when it comes to the disproportionate allocation of wealth. The numbers suggest that. That's why the anachronism is important in this play. We're trying to remind the audience that we're really making a statement about today by looking into the past.

BWW: It's a sad consolation prize but, in her death, she has spawned hundreds of books, fashion spreads, movies etc. Hopefully, she's teaching society something.

Barry Doss: I think she is. And I certainly think the playwright thinks that she is. Our director believes that as well. There is a message inside this life. Why else would there be so much obsession?

the making of MARIE ANTOINETTE

BWW: Sometimes there can be a blur in the theatre costume department. Really, any position in theatre. Or life. I know you're the costume designer for MARIE ANTOINETTE. But what is your exact role in the production? What have you been doing, and how have you been working?

Barry Doss: I'm getting to do what the dream for me is - to be the costume designer. I'm working conceptually with the team to create the show. I've done all the research. I've also developed patterns and such with the costume shop there. I'm a costume technician as well. Not only can I research and draw it, but I can also pattern it, cut it, drape it, stitch it, [I Laugh] and paint it, if need be.

Not all designers do that kind of work. Some design then rely upon the costume shop to do the execution. With my background in regional dance and working with limited budgets, I had to develop my own skills with patterning and draping in order to execute my designs. I had to do it all. And I just love couture. I love the whole process of choosing the fabrics, working on the patterns, draping things in muslin, sitting with the performers and creating custom-fit garments for them, and making something from nothing.

BWW: How do you use the design to create the trajectory of the characters?

Barry Doss: The first act is very colorful. A lot of the color in the first act is either couture inspired or has been made to flavor the scene. In the first scene, they're basically having their own party eating pastries, tarts, and treats. The colors are more of what you think of sweet tarts as opposed to the grayed hues of the 18th century. They're a little more vivid. They have a tang to them, you might say. Those are subtle ways of using color as story.

Another thing is, for obvious reasons, the story begins in one tone and ends in a completely different tone. There's a journey that has to happen. So, very quickly, we have to grasp the audience with this over the top decadence and opulence. Then, in a very short period of time, a 90 minute run, take them into the darkness that becomes the end of her life.

One of the ways I'm doing that as a designer is, as the play progresses, draining the color from the costumes. By the end of the show, we've gone from a palace of pastels and gold to a world of black and gray and the colors of the revolution, which are red, white, and blue. It's a real steely color palette at the end. It's all about the guillotine at the end. Everything has an edge. I'm not even using colors like brown so the earthiness and life is taken out of it.

BWW: What has been your process for this production?

Barry Doss: One of the interesting things about MARIE ANTOINETTE is it's anachronistic. The language is very modern, and the challenge has been to bring a flavor of of anachronism to the design. It's actually been very hard. Because it's a famous period, there is a certain expectation. So to make it modern was difficult. Especially when I started researching the period. To make the anachronism work, what I've tried to do is work with modern fabrics, then honor the silhouette of the 18th century or the mid to late 1700s. We're also not getting bogged down in period accessories. We have some moments where the anachronism comes in full out. For instance, one of the characters who is a shop owner will have modern day tools in his tool belt.

I also collaborate with a talented jewelry maker, Brenda Wells. The name of her company is Cross My Heart Jewelry. I met her at an exhibition. She had a booth and I saw her work. It looked so lavish and, sort of, baroque, but it's all contemporary bead work. She helped me create original chokers, necklaces, and earrings for the opening scene. In the opening scene, all the ladies will be wearing custom designed and executed jewelry and accessories that are all hand-beaded crystals. Hopefully, the whole thing will come off like an 18th century Vogue magazine fashion spread as opposed to an 18th century museum.

the making of Barry Doss

BWW: How did you decide to make the move from New York to Houston?

Barry Doss: Sam Houston State recruited me. I wasn't looking for a job, but when they called me I thought, "If I say no, I'll live the rest of my life wondering. You know what? It's worth giving it a try." And I'd been in New York for 18 years. I thought it might be good to go home to Texas. I'm originally from Fort Worth. That's part of it too. Had it been a job offer from Iowa, I'm not sure I would have taken it. [I Laugh] But, because it was the opportunity to come home to Texas and be near family, I thought, "Let me give it a go."

Barry Doss: I was the Associate Designer of EVITA, the recent revival with Ricky Martin. RED with Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne. I also worked as a wardrobe supervisor. Sometimes, the lines get blurred. EXIT THE KING, with Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, I was the associate designer on that.

BWW: What was it like working with Susan Sarandon?

Barry Doss: It was wonderful. I really enjoyed working with her. She is so kind. She is a very personable person. I've been fortunate to work with some cool people who are also very famous. But I don't read that much into fame. I can see through the glamor. I know it's all hard work. Last spring I was working with Holland Taylor, who starred as the ex-governor of Texas, Ann Richards, in play that she wrote called ANN. After the production, she hired me.

BWW: Holland Taylor is a fantastic actress. Susan Sarandon is a great actress as well. I just admire her as a human being.

Barry Doss: I do too. Both of them are great ladies. In fact, I was not the designer on ANN, but I was Holland's dresser, and I was the wardrobe supervisor. So, I worked with her very closely, because I helped dress her. And I ended up getting to style her for opening night and all of her TV appearances during the run. Also, because we worked so closely, I was given the great opportunity to design her Tony Award gown, which made the best-dressed list. I was very happy and thrilled. Her Tony dress was my red carpet debut.

BWW: How was it leaving the glitz and glamor of Broadway?

Barry Doss: Broadway is wonderful. It's fun. There's just a real life aspect to things too. Every day is not opening night. New York City is tough. The up and down of things had me, sort of, exhausted. The idea of being able to come to a place where I could replace tall buildings with tall trees, be near family, and slow down a bit was very desirable. But, to be honest, the pace has not slowed down! I'm so busy now, especially working on a show in Houston and working at Sam Houston State. The pace isn't different but the atmosphere is. That's been really nice. And being able to spend time with my family. That's been really wonderful.

BWW: Now you teach at Sam Houston State.

Barry Doss: Yes. I'm not a professor, but I instruct. I'm the resident designer for the dance program. But I'm also the shop manager for the shop. So any student who is on costume crew gets instruction from me. Right now, I'm instructing the students on designing and constructing dance costumes for their spectrum concert that they do once each semester. Once a week, the entire crew comes together as a class and we talk about design and construction technique - everything from conceptual to literal execution. What's really fun and cool about this program is that it always comes back to dance, which is sort of unusual. I think it's happening more, but it's unusual for a university to have a costume shop set up exclusively for the dance program. I think that's because dance programs have grown dramatically in the last 10 to 20 years.

BWW: How do you characterize your design?

Barry Doss: My design work is practical. I tell my students that I come from the old school of theatre craft, and that I'm actually more of a craftsperson as a designer. Things have changed in the realm of design. Technology has impacted things. But I tell my kids, in the end, a real garment has to hit the stage and, at some point, you have to put aside your computer, pick up some brown paper, pencil, and a pair of scissors and you have to make a garment.

BWW: Tell me about your path to Costume Designer for MARIE ANTOINETTE.

Barry Doss: I went to TCU in Fort Worth, and got a bachelor of arts in theatre, but I took dance classes there and worked a lot in the costume shop. That one shop basically serviced the theatre, opera, and dance department. I landed in the costume shop my freshman year because I knew how to sew. Both my grandmother and mother were home sewers. And I had an interest. I was making costumes when I was in high school for high school productions.

When I was at TCU, I designed some dance costumes, and I got a minor in fashion design. Because I had a strong interest in clothing and in costuming, by my senior year I was focusing more on costumes and ended up following an instructor and guest choreographer, David Hochoy. He was a soloist for Martha Graham Dance Company. Right after my undergrad, I moved to Indianapolis to work, under David Hochoy's artistic direction, for a company called Dance Kaleidoscope. I spent about five years designing and making dance costumes there before I moved to New York City and started working on Broadway.

Having gone from a dance company to Broadway - obviously, with Broadway we deal with a lot of dance technical costumes. But at the same time. I've had the opportunity to do things that were just theatrical, like plays, some television (on 30 Rock I worked as a tailor), and film. I've had a broad spectrum of experiences as a costumer.

I also did a little performance early on. I started out in theatre as an actor. I got an acting scholarship to TCU and the first time I went to New York City was for an audition for a European tour of HAIR. I was cast in that and got to go to Europe for a while. After that I decided to go to New York in 1996. I went to a few auditions and did some Off-Off Broadway stuff but, very quickly, I transitioned into working in the costume shops. I decided I really wasn't up to auditioning all the time and not knowing where my next job is going to be. So I consistently worked more costume shops until I joined the Theatrical Wardrobe Union. Then I started working backstage. And I landed a lot of assistant jobs working with international designers.

It's kind of convoluted, but it's the path I'm on.

Getting life from the image to the left? Looks like you got yourself a show. Stages Repertory Theatre's (3201 Allen Parkway) MARIE ANTOINETTE runs October 8 - November 2, 2014. Performance times are Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm. The show's run time is approximately 90 minutes including one fifteen-minute intermission. Tickets are $19 - $65. To purchase call 713.527.0123 or visit www.stagestheatre.com

Sketches courtesy of Barry Doss and Leslie Demny
Promotional images courtesy of Stages Repertory Theatre
Promotional photos by Amitava Sarkar

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