There was that time a flock of sheep ran past a TV interviewer. Or when everyone backstage was about to launch a challenging aerial number, only to be interrupted by someone who’d lost a mop. Oh, and watching a latex garment split just seconds before it was due on stage. Everyone who has worked on the World of WearableArt has a story about the costume mishaps and the strange joys of being involved in the annual theatrical mega-production, one involving hundreds of models, dancers, aerial acrobats, wardrobe technicians, dressers, mechanists, stage managers and stagehands.
So, what’s it like …
… caring for all those garments?
For four years, Tanya Jacobs was WOW’s collection and wardrobe manager, overseeing its store of garments and caring for new outfits that arrive in July for judging and remain until the final curtain in October.
Jacobs says that as WOW straddles the museum sector and theatre/live performance, you need to have skills applicable to both. Museum practices – cataloguing, photographing and caring for objects – must meld seamlessly with those required for live theatre.
“Probably the most challenging thing is the diversity of materials that we work with. It’s not like it’s just wood or fabric; there’s latex and metal and 3D printing and natural fibres so it’s good to be a jack of all trades for this kind of work. But you almost have to be expert in each of those areas as well because that’s the level of work required, and that’s a challenge.”
… repairing zips with seconds to showtime?
“If a zip breaks, we can sew the model into the outfit then fix it properly later,” says Jacobs. “A lot of designers use second-hand zips. I think in my first year there were about seven zips that broke and once, we had some very high hoof-style shoes without a heel and the zip broke on those so it was about finding a way that they could be worn without the zip. I had to sew the model into them with a curved needle. It was quite a tight fit, but it really needed to be solid to be able to walk on …
“Latex can be challenging, because it’s a rubber so it’s not like a slow break – it breaks quickly. We use glue to fix those. I think I have learnt more about glue in this job than in any other I have had, but my No 1 go-to is still a needle and thread. You have to think very quickly, it’s the MacGyver moment – and there are lots of MacGyver moments.”
… making the show’s performers fly?
A graduate from Christchurch’s now-defunct Circo Arts programme, Jenny Ritchie performed all over the world before returning home to Aotearoa in 2018 and joining WOW. She now works two jobs – as a textile artist, helping to create costumes for dancers and aerialists, and as the show draws near, aerial choreographer/director. Ritchie devises aerial and cirque-style acts and casts them. She also creates specialist equipment, working with engineers and designers. She says finding people to do the work is usually good in Wellington because it’s already a hub for set design and creation.
Glasgow- and Manchester-raised Steve Chambers started his career as a flyman – someone with the job of moving curtains, backdrops and scenery – in England before arriving in Nelson in the early 2000s. He became one of WOW’s first professional backstage crew, spending his first 10 years as a rigger, responsible for rigging harnesses to performers connected by wire to pulley controls, which riggers use to raise and lower them.
Chambers: “If you’re going to fly a human, you need to check all the steel work, you need to check the shackles, you need to check the clips – that needs to be done every single time – so before a cue, if there is any discrepancy – any discrepancy whatsoever – that needs to be stopped because it’s not worth risking a life.
“I know it sounds funny, but from a backstage and technical point of view, the more boring things are, the better, because once exciting things start happening, it can mean things aren’t happening the way you want.”
Ritchie: “It’s 12 metres from the top of the grid to the stage. The catwalk system is amazing and we have platforms built out beyond the catwalks so performers can climb over in their safety harnesses, get on to the apparatus, unclip from their safety harness and then do their thing.
“There are so many systems to adhere to and you can’t skip anything. But I love detail because it’s safety first. In the years that I have been there, I have not seen or experienced any near disasters, and it’s because of all the systems we have in place.”
Chambers: “It is fantastic. It’s hyper-focused, controlling levels of adrenalin because, obviously, there’s a life in your hands and you are part of a show that is being watched by 3000 people every night. Because WOW is such a huge production leading up to the point where you actually fly a human being during the show, it’s a good six to eight weeks of rehearsal. By that stage, you can be a bit punch-drunk from the whole thing because it does ask an awful lot but then comes this brilliant bit. It’s the payoff; that’s what all the hard work is for.”
Ritchie: “Honestly, it’s magical. The choreography and the garments are so beautiful and well-crafted that even with a bird’s-eye view, you’re seeing patterns and designs and then to look beyond and see the audience so captivated by this massive spectacle, you just realise how much of a gift it is to the performers as well as the audience.”
… to be on the catwalk, dressed like a giant chair?
Leonie Trathen is WOW’s show wardrobe/model and special projects manager. A former WOW model, she’s part of the team that, when a garment arrives, has to figure out: just how do you wear that?
Designers must submit a story about their garment, its inspiration and materials. That’s given to the model/performer to help them on stage. While someone may look stunning in a garment, if they can’t communicate its story then it’s not going to work, says Trathen. As she points out, it is a competition and every designer deserves to have the best person in their garment to realise its full potential.
“I started modelling for WOW in 1990, when it was in Nelson and volunteers from the community kept us going, and I have been involved with every single show since. The one that stands out for me is SuperMinx [Simon Hames won the 1999 Supreme Award for this creation], which I got to model.
“It was chairs so you literally looked like you had a seat on top of your back and your legs were the back legs and your arms were the front ones. I secretly hoped that I could wear it because we had never had an entry like it before and nothing like it since.
“It sure was a good workout for the legs, and galloping around the stage bent over had its challenges but was all worth it. When you have the privilege of wearing such an incredible garment you forget about the challenges.”
… to design a prize-winning costume and keep coming back?
Christopher Davis, a landscape designer from Auckland, was captivated by WOW from the time he saw it on TV. In 2010, then just 20, he and his mother flew down to see the show, which left him spellbound. A year later, his grandmother died and he was given dozens of her old knitting needles; it coincided with a serious back injury, which left him unable to work.
So, he used the knitting needles and the time to craft a “therapy piece” called Itchy Stitch, which harks back to childhood memories of having to wear itchy, hand-knitted woollen jumpers. His mum encouraged him to enter it in WOW and Davis was gently encouraged by the WOW team to attend that year’s show. To his utter astonishment, Itchy Stitch won the 2011 Sustainability Award. Hooked on the competition, he’s a regular entrant.
“Last year, I entered Haerenga (Journey), which was made from pumice that has native seeds embedded in it and flax; the whole thing can be returned to the water, break up, disperse and grow.
“There’s a preview show and watching that helps to settle the nerves because I get to see my garment on stage. When I saw Haerenga, I was just blown away by how it looked and how the model [Lucan Willis] made it come to life. The models really are awesome – the whole WOW team is super supportive – and work hard to understand each garment.
“It won first place for sustainability. It’s always amazing to win. I have entered garments that haven’t been selected for the show or haven’t placed and, yes, that’s devastating, but you do learn from your mistakes and change your approach.
“It’s an incredible experience to be a part of something like WOW and it’s not just the show. There are various events where you meet other designers from all over the world, visit various makers in Wellington or take part in workshops. It all adds to the experience and to anyone who’s thinking of entering, I say, ‘Go for it!’ Haerenga was pictured in the Guardian, and a picture of one of my garments turned up in Italian Vogue, so you never know what it may lead to. I can’t say too much, but this year I experimented with wax, which has been tricky for all sorts of reasons, including attracting a swarm of bees outside the kitchen ….”
2023 World of Wearable Art (WOW) Show: Beyond, at the TSB Arena, Wellington, September 20 to October 8.
