This was the largest opera in garments for the whole company, we even commissioned a third party business to construct all the children's chorus fairy garments. Our team was in charge of four principles: Anthony León as Lysander, Jennifer Johnson Cano as Hermia, Robert Mellon as Quince, and Samuel Krausz as Snout; and three children's chorus faries: Ana Ramirez, Emily Musarra, and Mazie Menkhus. There was a good amount of work for my team to tackle but the whole company started to work on the garments early on and throughout the season, in which I aided the other teams from time to time on the opera. The most notable projects I aided in were the teen fairy velvet skirts, the children's chorus fairy jackets, and Hermia's vests. Helping the other teams where I could and taking charge on notes for the children's chorus looks, helped me learn ways that I work with others in this field when in a position that others may come to me for answers rather than myself being on the other side which I was more accustomed to.

Points in which I was challenged:

• Introducing stitchers to working with velvet while re-familiarizing myself at the same time.

  • Going slow and talking through things such as: using velvet with velvet for pressing, how/when to use a needle board, working with the desired direction of the velvet, and how to install and use a walking foot; we're pivotal to ensuring everyone was on the same page and minimal errors/frustrations ensued.

• Being put in charge of the received children's chorus fairy jackets for my team was a beneficial exercise to work on how I mark and explain my patterns for clarity.

  • It was essential to mark and color code the six very similar sleeve extensions each jacket needed for each sleeve. Explaining how the marking indicated the pattern matching and how to sew them on with the slippery piping fabric was where I felt most prepared.