Clothes make the Man of La Mancha

Steven Sondheim famously reminded us that "the art of making art is putting it together, bit by bit." But when you watch a show - for instance, The Lyric Stage's production of Man of La Mancha, which opens this weekend - hopefully you will be transported by the story and not think about the weeks of hard work that made it possible. That's just fine with costume designer Raphael Jaen, who wants you to focus on the theatrical clash between art and reality, and not the hundreds of details that went into making his sumptuous costumes.

Four hundred and sixty details, to be precise. There are 46 costumes in the show, which Jaen modestly says is not a lot. But because each costume is composed of multiple layers that the actors have to quickly add and subtract, he says, "Each costume is really 10 pieces. So the logistics become really complicated." The layered approach is dictated by the La Mancha's play-within-a-play structure, which begins with Cervantes on trial. As he tells the Inquisitors his story, his fellow prisoners act out the tale that will become Don Quixote. The show is full of quick changes, including 15 that happen right on stage.
Jaen is proud of the balance he's been able to strike between his design and the demands of staging and blocking the show. For the general look, he took inspiration from the work of Goya, both in terms of costume details and in creating a painterly look. But underneath the illusion of period clothing are hidden elastic waistbands, snaps and Velcro.

"The most important thing is to get the silhouette right," he says. "There isn't time to get the actresses into petticoats, but you can stitch an extra ruffle inside the skirt to suggest a petticoat." Similarly, the actresses' mantillas will be held in place with a single springy hair clip instead of a complex system of hairpins.

If you're starting to get the idea that a costume designer's job is more complicated than sketching and sewing some clothes, this is just the beginning. Jaen worked closely with director Spiros Veloudos, and considered the needs of the entire company in each piece.

"I try to anticipate," he explains. "What's going to help the actor? What's going to help the director and stage manager?" This planning includes which costume pieces need to be completed first; actors need time to get accustomed to unwieldy or unusual pieces, like the Spanish helmets and armor worn by the Inquisitorial guards. Even something as simple as shoes can be tricky; Jaen made sure that the dancers got their shoes right away, to make sure they were sturdy enough.

Jaen also has to think about what could go wrong. For a skirt that will be ripped on stage, he's rigged two different ways it can be torn. "You don't want to be in tech week and find out that something doesn't work," he says, and laughingly adds, "This ain't no Broadway show! We don't have time for those mistakes."

But with all the planning, there's still room for the unexpected. Jaen fondly recalls the Dior original he dressed a femme fatale in for the Lyric's production of See What I Want to See. Based on Rashomon, the musical had a quasi-Japanese production design, with a complex multilevel stage that suggested origami. "I always keep my eyes open," says Jaen, "and I found this fantastic textured dress in a vintage store. It was like origami. It couldn't have been better."

In addition to working on five shows for the Lyric, Jaen's work has often been seen at The Boston Center for the Arts in productions by Sugan Theatre, The Publick, and Coyote Theater. He chuckles that it's not always easy balancing production schedules with his day job teaching costume design at Emerson. But Jaen has never been immune to the lure of the theater; he originally studied architecture, but after getting involved with local theater in his native Venezuela, he transferred to New York University to study the technical side of theater. He credits the convenient location of his South End home for helping make it all possible.

"I love the neighborhood," he says. "There's a real sense of community and interest in the arts. And it's close to work."

Man of La Mancha opens Fri., Sept. 7 and runs Wed.-Sun. through Oct. 13 at The Lyric, 120 Clarendon Ave., Boston. Tickets $29-$54. Call 617.585.5678 or visit lyricstage.com.