4 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Visual arts, literature,
theater, music & more
Dressing for the Coaster Theatre stage
Velcro is the best friend of costume designer Judith Light
By NANCY MCCARTHY
FOR COAST WEEKEND
C
ostumes for the
summer plays
hang in the
Coaster The-
atre’s two small
dressing rooms: brightly
colored blazers, a beau-
tiful black beaded gown,
a green dress with flam-
boyant shoulders and tony
tuxedos.
Even though “9 to 5:
The Musical” opened last
weekend and “Let’s Mur-
der Marsha,” opens this
Friday, Judith Light, the
theater’s costume designer,
still tweaks the costumes.
A button may be loose, a
thread may be unraveling
or a necklace may not be
quite right. Velcro — for
quick costume changes —
and a seam ripper — to
make costumes fit right —
are her best friends.
“When I can stand back
and say, ‘I’ve got where
I was headed, it’s what
I wanted,’ it’s good. It’s
good,” Light said.
The former owner of
a belly dancing studio in
northern California who
moved to Cannon Beach
late last year, Light has
been designing costumes
for many years — mostly
as a hobby for herself and
family members. She also
sewed costumes for her
studio dancers and helped
out at the Woodminster
Summer Musicals in Oak-
land.
Light came to the
Coaster after seeing an ad
for a costume designer.
Her first play was last
December’s “Once Upon a
Mattress,” which required
PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY
SUBMITTED PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER/CANNON-BEACH.NET
In “9 to 5: The Musical,” Cindy Karr, Jean Rice and Allison Johnson decide to teach their egotisti-
cal boss, played by Aaron Harris, a lesson.
An orange kimono, sewn by Judith Light, “just because I want-
ed to” appeared in “Once Upon a Mattress” at the Coaster The-
atre. The rich fabric is an example of the brocades and other
materials — including upholstery — used by Light, who calls
herself a “fabric-aholic.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER/CANNON-BEACH.NET
PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY
The over-the-top costumes in “Let’s Murder Marsha,” worn here by Sue Meyers,
Ellen Jensen and Frank Jagodnik, recall the 1980s soap opera “Dynasty.”
A rainbow of threads stand ready to be selected for the next costume created
by Judith Light.
costumes for 25 actors of
all shapes and sizes. The
outfits ranged from long
satin dresses for the ladies
in waiting (“I decided I
wanted them in the colors
of ice cream sherbet,”
Light said.) to a red velvet
gown trimmed in white
faux fur for the Queen.
“I’m a fabric-aholic,”
Light said.
Since “Once Upon
a Mattress,” Light has
decked out actors in three
other plays, in addition
to the two summer plays.
Before she starts looking
for fabric or checking
out discount stores and
websites for costumes, she
draws renderings for all of
the characters and discuss-
es them with the play’s
director.
Ryan Hull, for instance,
who directed “Let’s
Murder Marsha,” wanted
costumes for an afflu-
ent family in the 1980s.
The comedy about mur-
der, double crosses and
birthday surprises takes
the costumes over the top,
which Light enjoys.
“She approached me
before the auditions and
asked me what I thought
Continued on Pg. 5