‘An Ideal Husband’ has been one of Oscar Wilde’s most performed works since its debut in 1895. Although the comedy revolves around corruption, the costumes are always a sight to see. Written for the 1890s, the audience expects to see full dresses, tuxedos and top hats but the SMU Theater Department’s production of the classic, which opens Wednesday, takes the costumes to a new level. With the bright colors, puffy sleeves, jewelry and accessories that cover the actors from head to toe, it’s a wonder that costume designer Stephanie Slevin is only an undergraduate student in the theater department.
It’s rare for an undergraduate student to design for a main stage theatre show. SMU offers a B.F.A. in acting and a B.F.A. in theatre studies, which according to the Meadows Web site, “allows students to explore acting, directing, designing, playwriting and critical studies.” But only in the graduate program can a student specifically focus on costume design. Therefore, it’s usually the graduate students who have the opportunities to design for a show like “An Ideal Husband.”
This didn’t concern Slevin.
“When I auditioned for SMU, I was told that after a year or two of regular undergrad study, I could begin studying with the grads since SMU didn’t have an undergrad design program. So this opportunity to design costumes for ‘An Ideal Husband,’ as well as ‘Trouble in Mind’ last year, has been in the works for quite a while.”
Slevin says she is grateful for the experience of getting to work as the designer of the show. “It was fun to have a director who wasn’t afraid of the over-the-top fashions of 1895,” says Slevin.
The designer predicts that Mrs. Cheveley’s luxurious costumes will be the audience pleasers of the show. When asked which costume she’s exceptionally proud of, she says, “I honestly can’t choose just one. I’m particularly proud of [the six gowns] because I got to create them from the ground up. But I’ve been working on this show for five months so I’m attached to every last button, blouse, and hat.”
As for the future, the SMU senior hopes to move to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue costume design for film but says “those plans still are not set in stone.”
She can say that next semester will bring a new adventure when she will design her first set in the spring for the theatre department’s production of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus in conjunction with Kitchen Dog Theatre. “It’s a whole different world from costume design so I’m looking forward to trying something new,” she says.
If her work on ‘An Ideal Husband’ can speak to her future work as a set designer or in L.A., the future looks bright for this SMU senior.
‘An Ideal Husband,’ directed by James Crawford, runs from Oct. 15-19 in the Bob Hope Theatre at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
