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By ROSLYN NUDELLPeople familiar with the sets and costumes designed by Ted Koroi have come to expect lovely things from him. He’s been designing the costumes for Rainbow Stage ever since the theatre company started, and audiences love to ooh and aah over the glorious clothes just as much as they love to hear those familiar show tunes.But what may not be so well known is, that Korol’s eye for the beautiful goes beyond ribbons and bows, furbelows, frills and flounces, satins and velvets.“I collect antiques,” Korol said as he entered the living room of his apartment “It’s like a Ukrainian stage set,” he said with a laugh. True, a picture of his parents and sisters and brothers, dressed in Ukrainian costume and taken before the family left the Ukraine and came to Canada, does hang on the wall.. But Korol’s antique collection is more a mixture of the European and the Oriental.♦Tm saving good Oriental pieces, Russian crystal. English brass I’m fond of. I’m an antique nut. It becomes like a fever. Some people rush to the races — I rush to an auction.”“Right now I’m collecting interesting paintings. That’s a Ukrainian embroidered picture, with the troika and everything,” Korol said pointing to a picture hanging on the wall. Korol also recently acquired two French pictures which were painted on raw silk and embroidered.Korol’s living room is for him both a haven and a studio to work in. “It’s home to me, I paint in here.” Looking at his collection of beautiful antiques gives him pleasure. “I get a lot of pleasure from these things. I sit and look at them. They each have a moment.”But an item does not have to be either expensive or beautiful to give Korol enjoyment. A dirty piece of rock from a cottage that belonged to an old and dear friend is just as much a treasure as a piece of fine French porcelain. “I’m very sentimental. I guess it’s because I’m Ukrainian.”• Korol, an art and drama teacher at Sister High School, worked on five shows this summer. Re designed the sets for the Interiake Theatre Festival and the costumes for Rainbow Stage's QUver! and Hello, Polly! “Don’t mention this summer. I did five shows. Why I’m not shaking, I don’t know.He earned himself a well-deserved rest and wilt be taking a trip to Florence, Italy, in the near future. “My life’s ambition is to go to Florence,” which is not surprising since Korol studied art- “I went over to London, Fflgland last year. From Grand Beach to London —what a contrast.”Korol didn’t start out as a costume designer. “I’ve always been a set designer. I started out doing both sets andcostumes. The two sort of tied together.” But designing sets is far more demanding so, for large productions such as the Rainbow Stage ones he is known for, Korol will opt for designing the costumes. Korol has also done some acting and he usually played the “eccentrics” although he did get to play |he back end of a horse in Kiss Me Kate.Since Korol has been with Rainbow Stage for so many years (“I’ve been with them since the place opened”), he’s very familiar with a great many musicals. “You mention a musical — I’ve done it.“Oh, do I have a favorite? That’s a hard question. A new show is always a favorite.” But after thinking it over, Koroi said, “My show —for myself, because I love the Orient — would be The King and I.”Pulling out a pile of sketches (“my life) from a paper bag, Korol reminisced about the various shows he had worked on:My Fair Lady: “This was fun. I loved doing this. The hats were just mad. This is high fashion, which I am partial to.” Korol said pointing to some sketches of dresses worn during a scene which takes place at the posh Ascot race track. The dresses are black and white, with tight skirts and full bustles. The hats are indeed “mad” —wide-brimmed, bedecked with bows and feathers.Irene: “The Alice Blue Gown had miles of chiffon, pleated and blue, bou-cle, very raised lace.Oliver!: For the tavern scene, the women wore red petticoats. “The flash of red petticoats showed the bot anger and lust.” The clothing for most of the cast had to be aged, to give It just the right impoverished look. “It just breaks your heart when you have a new suit and you have to age it.”Hello, Dolly!: The dress Dolly wears in the final scene has “miles of these silk tassels and white peau de soie and aqua satin panels. It just shimmers like a mass of little fish when she walks. She’s just on for two minutes — so, it has to make an impact — and it just [weighs tons ”There are many things Korol must take into account when he designs his costumes. “There’s the mood of the 'number, of the show. I have to collaborate with the set designer. If he paints a set green and I design green outfits, then you’ve got all those little chameleons running around onstage,”Korol must know if the character will be dancing in the costume in order to give the performer freedom of movement. Costumes must be adapted and altered to suit each individual's build. If an actress has broad shoulders, then it's not a good idea to give her a dress with a flowered, puff sleeve.A costume must also say something about the character. “I have to know the show in great detail and have empathy with the characters. As soon as they step on the stage, the audience must know something about them before they speak.”
Newspaper Details
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
Tue, Aug 29, 1978
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
CA 19 Jun 2024
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