by Nancy Browning, University Communication intern

Case Western Reserve University's Kathleen Burke Clay dresses actors for the stage from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads.

photo by Susan Griffith Kathleen Burke Clay with a costume she created for the spring production of "An Ideal Husband."

Those who saw "An Ideal Husband" at Eldred Theater this past spring couldn't help but notice its magnificent 1890s costumes. Clay, an adjunct lecturer, costume designer and costume shop manager at Case, ranked that show among her top 10 favorites.

For Eldred Theater's second play this year, Timberlake Wertenbaker's "Our Country's Good," Clay is designing some 20 wigs in the style British naval officers would have worn in 1789.

"Few people have hair today that can pass for those times," she said.

Clay's wigs will complement Russ Borksi's production designs for the play set in an Australian penal colony, where the staff and prisoners are planning a performance to celebrate the king's birthday.

Performances of "Our Country's Good" are at 8 p.m. November 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22, with two matinees at 2:30 p.m. November 16 and 23, all in Eldred Theater.

Clay won't reveal her secret for great costumes. With a playful smile, she said it is important to maintain for the audience a "willing suspension of disbelief."

Just the second person to earn a master's of fine arts degree in design from Case's department of theater arts (now theater and dance), Clay has designed costumes for shows at Eldred Theater, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Cleveland Sign Stage, Cleveland Play House Children's Theater and Factory Theater.

She said the most challenging of all the shows with which she has been involved so far was "The Invisible Man," which she worked on as an intern at the Cleveland Play House.

Not only had she overbooked herself, working on two shows at once, but Clay said costumes had to be duplicated, and some made in triples, in order to accommodate the different riggings for creating the illusion of a character who wasn't actually there.

While earning her degree at Case, Clay had the opportunity to work a number of internships at the Cleveland Play House.

"The Cleveland Play House has a very workable and collaborative attitude toward theater," Clay said.
Clay identified that "collaborative art form" aspect
of the theater as the element that most appeals to her. She described it as a "team sport" in the arts.

"It becomes very exciting to watch something grow, change, really become beautiful and hit the mark but to really do it with a lot of people involved," she said.

At Case, Clay said she enjoys-even more than the costumes and the process-the students who surround her.

"They're new and ready to take on the world," she said.

Tickets to "Our Country's Good" are $10 for general admission, $7 for seniors or Case employees and $5 for students. For reservations, call 368-6262.

Return to the online edition of the 11-6-03 Campus News.

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