From GladRags to riches.Mississippi State University Mississippi State University, at Mississippi State, near Starkville; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1878 as an agricultural and mechanical college, opened 1880. From 1932 to 1958 it was known as Mississippi State College. is getting all dressed up--in costume, that is. Acclaimed theatrical designer Myrna Colley-Lee recently donated her extensive personal collection of theater costumes and memorabilia to the school's Mitchell Memorial Library. Colley-Lee has designed for Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. Its name comes from the Herman Hesse novel. , New York's Public Theater, and Theater Virginia, and founded her own design firm, GladRags Designs, in 1968. She has also worked as an art director and set designer for both television and film productions. She now holds a seat on the board of the MSU MSU Michigan State University MSU Mississippi State University MSU Montana State University MSU Minnesota State University MSU Morehead State University (Kentycky) MSU Montclair State University art department and lives on a farm in Tallahatchie County. The donated collection includes scripts, photographs, rehearsal notes, playbills, and--most notably--costumes from the 1920s to the present. "I have bought many of the pieces at vintage and thrift stores over the years, either for my own wardrobe, for costumes, or for research," Colley-Lee said. "Through my donation to Mississippi State, I wanted to share my love of theater and give students exposure to the intricacies and opportunities in that world." In conjunction with the donation, "Glad Rags glad rags pl.n. Slang Stylish clothes. glad rags Noun, pl Informal one's best clothes : Sketches, Swatches, and Costume Designs Costume design is the design of the appearance of the characters in a theater or cinema performance. This usually involves designing or choosing clothing, footwear, hats and head dresses for the actors to wear, but it may also include designing masks, makeup or other unusual forms, ," an exhibition of Colley-Lee's own sketches and designs, will be on display at the Mitchell Memorial Library through January 26. The exhibit features costumes from productions including "The Wedding Band," a play produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. "My favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. part of the exhibit is that it gives a wide range of techniques for costume design, a wide range of shows, and different ways to accomplish the rendering process," said Colley-Lee. "The costumes from 'The Wedding Band' add a third dimension to the exhibit by allowing viewers to see the finished product." For details on the MSU exhibit, call 662/325-8542. For more information about Colley-Lee's work, see www.gladragsdesigns.com. |
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