Live theatre has many aspects, put together with the skills of several specialized artists. I have been fortunate enough to work with Cheryl Lalonde, long time Technical Director, Costume Designer and Stage Manager for Toronto Dance Theatre and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre.
This Green Jacket, photographed under construction, was conceived of by myself and beautifully crafted and designed by Cheryl. The fabric is hand woven, I brought back with me from Brukina Faso. I remember buying it:
Burkina Faso is a small country, located in the centre of West Africa, on the edge of the Sahara desert. John and I spent two weeks in Ouagadougou, the capital city. We found a bar we liked to spend some of the hottest hours of the day in, often sipping pom pom (a carbonated fruit juice) or one of the local beers. In the corner of the bar a young man was often shining shoes and so you might notice that many of the customers were wearing plastic flip flops.
On this particular day an older man entered the bar draped in fabrics. Venders often walk up and down the streets selling their goods to people passing by. I had been looking for fabric, different from the typical wax prints I have come to love. He made an easy sale, I bought two! The green cloth in this jacket is one of them.
More on Cheryl:
Born and raised in Toronto, Cheryl Lalonde began her career in the arts with Act IV Theatre at Adelaide Court. After two years backstage at Toronto Workshop Productions, her design debut was for the premiere production of Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters under mentor and director Larry Lewis. Splitting her time between design and stage management has allowed her to travel the world as well as collaborate with many companies, including: Desrosiers Dance Theatre, Danny Grossman Dance Company, Fujiwara Dance Inventions, Eclectic Theatre, Alberta Ballet, Dreamwalker Dance Company, Theatre Smith Gilmour, and Kaeja d'Dance. Ms. Lalonde has been nominated for four Dora Mavor Moore Awards for design and was honored in 1997 for her design of Eclectic Theatre's Chutzpah a-go-go. She has served on the faculty of Theatre Arts at The Banff Centre for seven summers, and recently participated in a panel of Canadian Stage Managers to establish a DACUM occupational analysis for Stage Management.
