Artslandia at the Performance: Portland Playhouse Nov/Dec 2014 | Page 46

FROM THE DESK OF MELISSA HELLER

COMPANY COSTUME DESIGNER,
BAG&BAGGAGE PRODUCTIONS

MOST
CHALLENGING COSTUME
The quick-transforming
kimono from Kabuki
Titus, with flowing
ribbons and a split
down the middle.

“BETTY”

36"×26"×36"
(The Hourglass)

Husband
Brad's guitar
and video
games

Pins for
places
visited

$1,500

12–15

on notions
(buttons, zippers,
etc.) per year

“MARGE”

40"×29"×42"
(The Pear)

SHOWS
A YEAR

“My painting
masterpiece!”
from Oregon
State University
art class

“I always keep
some fluff on hand”

Anatomical heart
pincushion

Leather scraps to make
beer koozies for friends

Arm hole draft

50 YARDS
of fabric per season

F

“

rom mannequins on
pulleys to sewing and
serging machines, Bag&Baggage’s company costumer
Melissa Heller has her home
workshop perfectly rigged
for her latest projects. While
preparing to stitch up The Six
Gentlepersons of Verona, she
shared her favorite sewing
tips: Magnets make the best
quick-release fixtures, shoes
and jewelry “tend to explode
onstage” and require the
most repairs, and though her
favorite pincushion is shaped
like an anatomical heart, she’