Her costumes make actors come alive

After years of crafting Halloween costumes for her nieces, nephews, and dogs, volunteer Debbie Brevig took on the challenge of creating theater outfits for ProAct Playhouse on a tight budget.

Could she make seven costumes for $100? She talked with actors to get their ideas of what their characters would wear and looked for material that would create the image they wanted.

“It is my privilege to be working with them,” said Brevig. “It is just a thrill for me! I am just putting pieces of fabric together, but they are giving it their all.”

To keep costs low, felt and netting fabric were used. Inexpensive fabric paint with glitter added glitz and sparkle to excite the actors. For “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” she needed forest colors, a flowing movable costume for Puck, and purple royalty capes for the kingly couple. Some costumes allowed for free dancing and movement. The donkey got a last-minute tail and the shorter substitute-actor needed a costume refitted for a wheelchair.

A retired insurance financial analyst, Brevig worked for a year at JoAnn Fabrics, was familiar with fabrics and learned that accents could be found at a hardware store. For the election-themed “Get Me to the Polls on Time” play on October 25, Brevig is stepping into new shoes as a set designer. Watch for lots of red, white and blue.