Drama student exhibits artistic flair in costume design

The audience listens to the crisp sound of ripping paper as a judge at the Los Angeles International Thespian Society (ITS) tears open an envelope. It is an intense competition between creative students and their costume designs. Fingers crossed tightly, junior Annelise Nussbacher, along with 50 other students,  excitedly waits to hear the judges’ decision. The judge clears her throat and picks up the microphone. 

“And [the judges] called the names, and it was me,” Nussbacher said. “I got on stage and received a medal for first place.”

Nussbacher has long had a knack for arts and design. In March, she won first place for costume designs at the statewide ITS competition.

“It was great to win first place out of 50 contestants from all over the state, especially as an underclassman,” Nussbacher said.

For the contest, Nussbacher draws her designs, but she did not have to make the actual costumes. Her winning pieces were based on the musical production “Barnum.” According to Nussbacher, “Barnum” is a story about a circus, and the costumes were elaborate and difficult to depict. She chose the Broadway musical because she wanted to challenge herself after sketching only simple designs as a freshman; with a circus, she could “make it crazy but make it work.”

“Not only is it a very stylized time period, but it took place at a circus as well, making the designing process very difficult,” Nussbacher said. “I looked at how the costumes would look in real life, drew in a lot of details to them, and made them a bit darker. That is what really made my pieces stand out to the judges.”

Nussbacher explained that the procedure took an enormous amount of research. She researched circus apparel from the 1830s and analyzed each character for whom she created a design. She also referred to costumes in Tim Burton’s film “Sweeney Todd” for ideas to make the pieces stand out in an obscure way.

“I had to take all the research I did and find a way to employ it effectively into my designs until I could find a cohesive feel that worked,” Nussbacher said.

After the exhausting process of illustrating the designs, she had to work on a write-up and present it to the judges in five minutes. The judges then asked questions for another five minutes, looking for precise answers.

She described the judges as very “nit-picky people who want to make sure that you really know your stuff.”

“These are all people in the costume design profession, and they know what they’re talking about,” Nussbacher said. “So it would be very clear to them if you didn’t.”

Nussbacher said that though the design industry is difficult to get into as a career, she hopes that having the ITS competition in her background “gives her an edge.” 

She has not yet decided a future in design for herself; nevertheless, Nussbacher said she will definitely compete in ITS this year, as well as the year following.

“[Costume design] is really difficult and competitive to get into as a profession,” she said. “But if I could make a successful career out of it in the future, that would be so wonderful.”