By Tina Depko
If the clothes make the man, then the costume makes the actor.
A good costume can make a statement in a play before an actor even says his first line, but the amount of time spent making a character look good often goes unnoticed.
The National Arts Centre English Theatre is trying to change that with a free exhibit that features the sketches of John Pennoyer, one of Canada’s most celebrated costume designers.
“We hope people who see the display will appreciate the art and the skill that goes into costume design,” says Victoria Steele, administrator of the NAC English Theatre.
“When people come to a play they certainly know someone has put a lot of work in putting the costumes together, but they don’t necessarily think back to the creative process that inspired the look in the first place.”
The exhibit, which runs until Dec. 31, is entitled “Costume on Paper: 25 Years of Design for the Stage by John Pennoyer.” It features 26 sketches of characters from a wide variety of plays, such as Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
Each character is rendered in pen, pencil crayon or watercolour, and is so realistic that it jumps off the page and onto a stage in the mind.
“You can really sense the character and the actor when you see his works,” Steele explains. “He’s a real artist in his own right and the sketches are beautiful products.”
Regular audience members at NAC English Theatre productions will recognize many of the characters in the sketches, as Pennoyer has a long history of collaboration with the organization.
“Pennoyer did a lot of work here in the 1980s and 1990s, and he is currently working on our upcoming production of Twelfth Night,” Steele says. “I think he is such a talented man and I am glad we are celebrating him.”
Pennoyer is just as excited about the exhibit, which is the first of its kind in Canada.
“I was very pleased and flattered when I was told about the display,” he says. “When I first saw it I was flooded with memories of all the wonderful people I have worked with over the past 25 years.”
Pennoyer, who was born in Montreal in 1949, studied fine arts at McMaster University before moving to Stratford in 1972.
It was there he launched his career, and his ability to make characters come alive from the pages of plays has made him a national figure in Canadian theatre.
“Everything starts from the script,” Pennoyer says regarding the creation of his sketches. “You usually find out what the weather is, what status the person has in the universe of the play, and go from there.”
NAC archivist Gerry Grace, who was responsible for the assembly of the exhibit, says it wasn’t easy choosing only 26 sketches from the collection of over 100 renderings.
“We tried to cover Pennoyer’s 25 years of working in design, and I think we did pretty well,” he says. “There are designs from as early as 1977 right up to this season at the NAC.”
Grace says these character blueprints give the public an up close and personal look at the creative process that occurs beyond the stage.
“The audience for a production only sees the final result and they don’t see that first step,” he explains. “What we are trying to show people is how it all starts with putting costumes on paper.”