Our People, Their Profile | Lyndsey Kuhlmann, Cutter/Draper

This season has been like no other. In order to help First Stage endure the devastating financial effects of COVID-19, we created the special relief initiative—the HOPE Fund. Donations to the HOPE Fund will Help Our People Engage, Enlighten, Entertain, and Educate by supporting the talented First Stage staff who provide HOPE for thousands of young people and families. All charitable gifts made to the HOPE Fund before June 30, 2021 will be matched 1-to-1, up to $50,000—thanks to another generous matching gift from the Molitor Foundation.

 

First Stage had the chance to catch up with our Cutter/Draper, Lyndsey Kuhlmann, to learn more about her First Stage story.

 

For the past 12 seasons, Lyndsey has been working in our Costume Shop.

 

What do you do as a Cutter/Draper?

 

Taking our designers’ renderings, I research and figure out how to make their designs come to fruition. I take measurements, create and fit the costumes, and make sure everything is finished on time.

 

Often, our actors’ first experience on the production is coming into the Costume Shop for measurements, so my role at First Stage has me working directly with our young performers at the very beginning of the production process, through fittings, dress rehearsals, and all the way through to the opening performance.  

 

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

 

Outside of First Stage, I am a swing dancer and teacher, knitter, gardener, baker—a general collector of hobbies, I guess.

 

How has working at First Stage affected you?  

 

Creative collaboration and problem solving are at the core of working in technical theater—especially in the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) field with high production value, like First Stage.

 

The nature of TYA productions gives us unique challenges (like turning actors into dancing cupcakes or a herd of reindeer or a piece of paper), and we so often have work together to come up with the most creative solution. Our very small, but mighty, Costume Shop team is incredible, and I am regularly astonished at what we are able to achieve when we lean on and learn from each other.

 

Watching and hearing our young audience members' reactions on opening night will never get old for me. We spend quite a long time preparing a production for the stage and somehow—even after months of work—sitting through hours of dress and technical rehearsals on a show we’ve produced multiple times, there is still nothing like watching families experience the absolute joy, wonder, and magic of live theater. It’s those moments that help me keep going, and during this pandemic, I miss those moments more than words can say.

  

What does your craft mean to you?

 

When I say I work in a Costume Shop, the typical response I get is “That must be so fun!” and it is, but audiences don’t usually get to see all that goes into it—the years of training, the piles of research books, the MATH, the myriad of trials and errors, and the meticulous details. Even clothes and accessories that are store bought need to be custom fitted and altered before they appear on stage.

 

We truly take pride in our craft, especially on things that will go completely unnoticed to an audience and are just a treat for ourselves and the performer wearing it. The touches that make it just a bit more comfortable to wear or sneak in a subtle character detail. I think it shows how much we care about what we do. 

 

You can get the behind-the-scenes look on our work in the Costume Shop by following @firststagecostumes on Instagram.

   

What does the HOPE Fund mean to you?

 

When the pandemic hit and theaters promptly shut their doors, it was particularly terrifying for all of us out there who make our living by producing live theater. Thanks to your generous contributions to the HOPE Fund, we have been able to keep our jobs, and stay insured during this incredible uncertain time. You have given us hope! Thank you.

 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Photo by Paul Ruffolo Photography.