Tuck Everlasting Designer Spotlight: Costume Designer, Dan Jones

When did you decide to become a costume designer and why?
When I was in college, all Theatre Majors were required to work in a shop and I was randomly assigned to the Costume Shop. I always loved clothes and grew up with my Mother sewing for my sister and myself, so it just felt natural. I was initially intending to be an actor, but being a Costume Designer was also fascinating to me in that you have to understand the arc and personality of all the characters. The Costume Designer gives the audience visual clues to who the characters are or who they present themselves to be, adding another layer to telling the story.

What kind of education prepared you for this career?
I graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and then completed a Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design.

What’s your favorite part of designing costumes for Tuck Everlasting?
I love the sense of magic inherent to the story. Discovering the world of the play and how we as a Production Team can create the magic for the audience has been a wonderful collaborative experience.

Tell us about your inspiration for the dance ensemble costumes. 
I was struck by the idea of these ensemble members as part of the magical world of the woods. From there, I imagined them as wood sprites acting as guardians of nature and how they could then become part of the environment organically.

A lot of time goes by in this production, how do you show that as a costume designer?
The passage of time is so integral to the story and themes of this piece. I started by researching the specifics of how each of the different time periods would look in terms of fashion. The Tucks themselves really become the visual timepiece as we see them transition from the Regency period into the Victorian and even into the 20th Century. The way clothes fit is so distinctly different that it really shows how the world continues to evolve around the Tucks.