Recycling is second nature to Govane Lohbauer. Last year, Shakespeare & Company's costume director got a call from S&Co founder Tina Packer who said she wanted to direct a winter production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which is set in the 18th century French court and requires elaborate costumes. "Tina asked me, Can we do it from stock?" recalls Lohbauer, who knew the financially-challenged theater company could not afford to buy the sort of sumptuous fabrics needed to make new period dresses and dress coats. "I told Tina we could do everything from stock—except the wigs."
Lohbauer (right) has been designing costumes for S&Co for 30 years. "My studio used to be in the eves in the stables at The Mount, which we shared with the bats and the mice," she says, smiling at the memory as she stands in her enormous sunny studio above the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Since 1980, she has saved seemingly every belt, buckle, blouse, coat, hat, petticoat, shoe and trouser that has ever been worn on stage at S&Co. Her vast fiefdom looks like a meticulously organized Goodwill store with an incredible pedigree. "We're the envy of every costume shop in the northeast," she says. "And everybody rents from us—Barrington Stage, BTF, Williams College, and all the companies in Boston." One of the challenges of designing Liaisons was its location in the smaller Bernstein Theatre where the actors are literally inches away from the audience, so there could be no sleight of hand. "I couldn't use zippers, for instance, because they're not period," she says. A self-taught costume scholar, she explains how she remade dresses from The Merry Wives of Windsor to be appropriate to late 18th century France. "What distinguishes these from the Renaissance is the sleeves, which are really tight," Indeed, authenticity is key to Lohbauer's philosophy. "Lizzie Aspenlieder wears a full corset," she says. "The actors wore panniers [the wire contraptions that create exaggerated hips] since day one of rehearsal."
Serendipity also plays a part in the costume process. "People are always donating things to us, and we got two very important gifts last year," she says. "There was a decorating business in Great Barrington that went out of business and she gave us bolts of expensive silk fabrics that I put aside for this show. And my daughter, Sandy [Wade-Cleary], got a stash of lace from someone she worked for and gave it to us. I think the lace made all the difference for these costumes."
And the quality of the costumes makes all the difference to the actors. "Costumes are integral to defining a character’s status, wealth, and station and support the world of the play," says Elizabeth Aspenlieder, who plays La Marquise de Merteuil. "In Liaisons, it’s layer upon layer of deception – so my character is the only female with no less than 3 separate and stunning dresses. Costumes are especially important in an 18th century French period piece where manners, etiquette and how one presents oneself is key. To some degree the costumes become a layer of who you are and how you define yourself, how you move." Alexandra Lincoln, who plays Emilie, the courtesan, echoes Aspenlieder's sentiments. “My two costume pieces are corsets and this very elaborate, gaudy, lavender dress with gold trim and lavender gloves," she says. "Plus a sequined purse. My pannier is also bigger than everyone else’s. I think ‘more is more’ is the philosophy behind my costume. And that does translate into my character, who doesn’t obey all of the rules. I burp, I laugh at people, I do what I want. I have a healthy sense of joie de vivre that the opulence of my costume reflects." "You always think of a whore as being dressed in reds and more racy colors, but in my costume I appear very girlie and playful, with purple bows and lavender," continues Lincoln. "I do think that affects the character. I’m not a dark force. The play has a lot to do with maintaining false appearances, and here is this courtesan with frilly bows, almost like Little Bo Peep gone very badly astray."
