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The Curtain Goes Up on a Future Costume Designer’s Career

Donn Selkowitz
Audiences had a number of reasons to take great delight in the Shipley Middle School’s 2024 theatrical production of the whimsical musical, Alice in Wonderland, including highly imaginative costume designs that helped bring the Riely stage to life.

This visual tour-de-force was the handiwork of a single Shipley eighth-grade student, Anne Martindale, whose original costume designs and sewing talents added yet another creative dimension to support the remarkable performances of the musical’s cast.

Looking back at her young life, it’s easy to see why Anne was well prepared to seize the opportunity that presented itself early in the school year.

“I guess I’ve been artistically inclined from a very early age. My first primitive drawings and paintings often included happy girls dressed up in pretty dresses. So, it seems that my initial interests tended to be centered on fashion design. Only more recently did they turn to costume creation.”

Anne’s sketches and design work were not her only early connections to the performing arts. She also was no stranger to being in the spotlight on stage.

“Like a lot of young children, I performed in my fair share of ballets. Around the time I entered second grade, my focus turned to musical theater, where it remains today. Besides designing the costumes, I played the part of the eccentric Mad Hatter, which some of my friends might say I was born to portray.”

As recently as three years ago, Anne’s interest in design was confined to watching videos and TV series such as Project Runway that chronicled the work of aspiring fashion designers who competed for a chance to break into the industry.

“Gradually, my interests gravitated to costuming instead of fashion, partly because I had been receiving a lot of support, instruction, and encouragement from my older half-sister who is a professional costume designer.”

While passion for costume design might run inside her family, Anne’s talent as a seamstress developed with some outside help that can only be described as a peculiar stroke of good luck.

“I’m not a big fan of sewing things by hand, which can be time-consuming and frustrating. But my first sewing machine had its drawbacks and limitations, as well. Amazingly, last summer I stumbled upon a $2,000 industrial-grade sewing machine in perfect working condition discarded among some bushes. What are the chances of that? I took it as a sign that I needed to continue to pursue my passion.”

In addition to completely designing and sewing two of the costumes for the Middle School musical, Anne transformed an additional 13 off-the-rack garments to include creative elements that would immediately help identify and symbolize each of the characters in the play.

“During the design phase of creating the costumes, I took inspiration from a variety of sources including Pinterest and especially the Royal Ballet’s interpretation of the musical. Of course, their costume budget was a lot bigger than ours. I was able to make 15 costumes for just about $200, which I think was a real accomplishment.”

Anne revealed that her favorite creation was the skirt she crafted for the Queen of Hearts featuring full-length rows of playing cards, even though the design posed a bit of a wardrobe problem during one of the performances.

“During the Act 1 finale, someone stepped on the Queen’s skirt, tearing off the bottom row of playing cards. I spent the entire intermission reattaching them.”

Anne was also particularly proud of the satchel she created for the White Rabbit.

“My goal was to create the impression that all of these playing cards were randomly flying out of the satchel, so I had to strategically hot glue them together to make sure they didn’t fall off while the White Rabbit was in motion on the set.”

As it turned out, almost six months of Anne’s costume design and creation efforts had a major impact on the musical’s success. But she’s quick to give credit to Middle School Theater Director, Ozzie Jones, for having the confidence in her to make a number of creative decisions on her own.

“To be honest, I probably took on more than I should have between my on-stage and behind-the-scenes responsibilities. But Mr. Jones let me see it through from start to finish.

“Plus, my teachers were really understanding when I started to fall behind on submitting my class assignments on time. From what I’ve seen, other students involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities have been given similar accommodations. Supporting the arts is just the Shipley way. I really don’t think other schools would have been as understanding.”

With the musical behind her, and the knowledge of the sacrifices she made still fresh in her mind, Anne is resolute about her future plans.

“I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. There has been nothing more rewarding than the day I brought the finished costumes to rehearsal and saw how excited my classmates were to try them on. So, I’m already looking forward to next year’s costume design and acting challenge.”

Does Anne see costume design as part of her future once her Upper School and college days are over?

“Absolutely! This summer, I’ll be spending a month overseas studying costume design at the University of the Arts London where I hope to do some networking and begin to better understand the business side of the costume design industry.”
Who knows what she might find in the bushes overseas?
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814 Yarrow Street
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Phone: 610-525-4300
Fax: 610-525-5082
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.