Nothing gets East London theatre costume designer Judy Raffan into a flap – neither the request to sew costumes for a cast of 200, nor the challenges of creating a harp-shaped dress. She simply lines up piles of velvety velours and silky satins and snaps on her sewing machine.
Raffan, 59, has dressed thousands of young actors and dancers since she fell into costume design in the late ’90s and is currently running up flapper dresses for Stirling High School’s rendition of Singin’ in the Rain which opens at the Guild Theatre on Tuesday.
“We were lucky with this show because director Marc Williams and I found some great ready-made outfits,” said Raffan, who found a floaty apricot evening dress with diamante detail and a creamy dream of a dress at St Bernard’s Hospice and sourced a trench coat at Coat King for the leading man.
She sews the rest and, while being interviewed for the Saturday Dispatch, hurriedly pins luxurious fabrics together ahead of a morning fitting at the school.
Although her mother sent her to sewing lessons when she was 15 and growing up in East London, Port Elizabeth-born Raffan made a career of banking after matriculating at Commercial High.
“We all went into banks or building societies in those days.”
Once her children – Hellen, 33, and Cameron, 30 – were born, Raffan became a stay-at-home mother, but needed an income, so she ran up a maternity collection and sold it at Art in the Park.
“Then a Guild Theatre board member asked me to fix some costumes they had had made for the Guild Theatre Dance Company and I have sewed for the Guild ever since,” said Raffan, who has lost count of the many pantomimes she had dressed in the last 18 years.
“For years I never had an October or November because I’d be frantically sewing for pantos like Aladdin, Peter Pan and Snow White.”
Once her flair and creativity hit the spotlight, the city’s dance teachers came a-knocking and Raffan is now the go-to costume designer for many dance and ballet studios including Nicole Windell’s Steps of Style, the Jo Jackson Dance Studio, Joanna Wright School of Ballet and Charene Harris’ Just Dance Studio.
Before long she outgrew the small guest bedroom-turned sewing room and extended her home with a sunny studio as the centrepiece.
With much-loved staffie Rosa at her feet, Raffan spreads out the luscious materials and sequin strings of her trade and transforms them into custom-made magic.
At the start of a show she meets with directors and choreographers to absorb their vision before measuring every performer and noting their particulars in a large black notebook.
“They are all on strict budgets and fabric is expensive but I buy it locally. Lycra is too expensive for the dance productions, so I use bonbon stretch fabric or viscose lycra, but for the ballets I use lots of cotton, satin and tulle. I make the bustiers which have to be very form-fitting and structured, as well as the overlays for the tutus.”
Because ballet costumes are different from other theatrical wear, Raffan has picked up many pointers from accomplished ballet teacher Joanna Wright.
“Joanna taught me a lot about making ballet costumes. The main thing is that the dancers’ arms have to move and can’t be restricted. The armholes have to be cut differently and the material has to flow. Soft satin always works well, as does chiffon. Ballet costumes are the most challenging.”
Although she usually does one or two productions a year, last year was an extraordinary whirl of fittings and sewing.
“Last year was a busy one,” recalls Raffan. “I usually do one or two shows a year, but last year I did five. I was sewing day and night.”
She singles out a “harp dress” as the most unusual of her career. “I made a long evening dress with the arms in the shape of a harp and long strings incorporated into the dress. I think it is still in the dungeons of the Guild somewhere ...”
Far from putting her off, it is unusual orders like this that deepen her love for her job.
“I don’t really like making ordinary clothes. They are boring. I like the magical stuff.”
A cupboard in her studio contains a treasure trove of satins, sequins and velvets, all neatly colour coded. “I always say when this cupboard is empty I will retire,” she laughs while stroking her large black-and-white cat Charlie, a stray who walked into her life one day and made itself at home.
As opening night looms, the whir of her machine can be heard late into the night.
“It can get very stressful as photographs ahead of opening night approaches. Sometimes I work late into the night and get up at 5am to sew. I have been working with these directors for a long time and they know I get done on time.
“I push myself under pressure, but I love what I do which makes a big difference.”
And, once she switches off her machine and takes her seat in the theatre, there is nothing more rewarding than watching her costumes come to life.
“I love theatre and it is unbelievable how they put it all together.
“Luckily I found my passion – not everybody does.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Tickets for Singin’ in the Rain which runs at the Guild Theatre from Tuesday March 6 to Saturday March 10, cost R90 for adults and R50 for scholars and are available at Computicket
The ‘sew’ must go on when life is one big dress rehearsal
Raffan, 59, has dressed thousands of young actors and dancers since she fell into costume design in the late ’90s and is currently running up flapper dresses for Stirling High School’s rendition of Singin’ in the Rain which opens at the Guild Theatre on Tuesday.
“We were lucky with this show because director Marc Williams and I found some great ready-made outfits,” said Raffan, who found a floaty apricot evening dress with diamante detail and a creamy dream of a dress at St Bernard’s Hospice and sourced a trench coat at Coat King for the leading man.
She sews the rest and, while being interviewed for the Saturday Dispatch, hurriedly pins luxurious fabrics together ahead of a morning fitting at the school.
Although her mother sent her to sewing lessons when she was 15 and growing up in East London, Port Elizabeth-born Raffan made a career of banking after matriculating at Commercial High.
“We all went into banks or building societies in those days.”
Once her children – Hellen, 33, and Cameron, 30 – were born, Raffan became a stay-at-home mother, but needed an income, so she ran up a maternity collection and sold it at Art in the Park.
“Then a Guild Theatre board member asked me to fix some costumes they had had made for the Guild Theatre Dance Company and I have sewed for the Guild ever since,” said Raffan, who has lost count of the many pantomimes she had dressed in the last 18 years.
“For years I never had an October or November because I’d be frantically sewing for pantos like Aladdin, Peter Pan and Snow White.”
Once her flair and creativity hit the spotlight, the city’s dance teachers came a-knocking and Raffan is now the go-to costume designer for many dance and ballet studios including Nicole Windell’s Steps of Style, the Jo Jackson Dance Studio, Joanna Wright School of Ballet and Charene Harris’ Just Dance Studio.
Before long she outgrew the small guest bedroom-turned sewing room and extended her home with a sunny studio as the centrepiece.
With much-loved staffie Rosa at her feet, Raffan spreads out the luscious materials and sequin strings of her trade and transforms them into custom-made magic.
At the start of a show she meets with directors and choreographers to absorb their vision before measuring every performer and noting their particulars in a large black notebook.
“They are all on strict budgets and fabric is expensive but I buy it locally. Lycra is too expensive for the dance productions, so I use bonbon stretch fabric or viscose lycra, but for the ballets I use lots of cotton, satin and tulle. I make the bustiers which have to be very form-fitting and structured, as well as the overlays for the tutus.”
Because ballet costumes are different from other theatrical wear, Raffan has picked up many pointers from accomplished ballet teacher Joanna Wright.
“Joanna taught me a lot about making ballet costumes. The main thing is that the dancers’ arms have to move and can’t be restricted. The armholes have to be cut differently and the material has to flow. Soft satin always works well, as does chiffon. Ballet costumes are the most challenging.”
Although she usually does one or two productions a year, last year was an extraordinary whirl of fittings and sewing.
“Last year was a busy one,” recalls Raffan. “I usually do one or two shows a year, but last year I did five. I was sewing day and night.”
She singles out a “harp dress” as the most unusual of her career. “I made a long evening dress with the arms in the shape of a harp and long strings incorporated into the dress. I think it is still in the dungeons of the Guild somewhere ...”
Far from putting her off, it is unusual orders like this that deepen her love for her job.
“I don’t really like making ordinary clothes. They are boring. I like the magical stuff.”
A cupboard in her studio contains a treasure trove of satins, sequins and velvets, all neatly colour coded. “I always say when this cupboard is empty I will retire,” she laughs while stroking her large black-and-white cat Charlie, a stray who walked into her life one day and made itself at home.
As opening night looms, the whir of her machine can be heard late into the night.
“It can get very stressful as photographs ahead of opening night approaches. Sometimes I work late into the night and get up at 5am to sew. I have been working with these directors for a long time and they know I get done on time.
“I push myself under pressure, but I love what I do which makes a big difference.”
And, once she switches off her machine and takes her seat in the theatre, there is nothing more rewarding than watching her costumes come to life.
“I love theatre and it is unbelievable how they put it all together.
“Luckily I found my passion – not everybody does.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Tickets for Singin’ in the Rain which runs at the Guild Theatre from Tuesday March 6 to Saturday March 10, cost R90 for adults and R50 for scholars and are available at Computicket
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