EXPLORING IDENTITY Emilio Sosa l Costume Designer Michael Griffo l Author/Educator ELA, Life Skills, Character Studies Grades l 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 FEATURING EMILIO SOSA • FASHION & BROADWAY COSTUME DESIGNER EXPLORING IDENTITY BACKGROUND ARTIST INSIGHT As a Latino, I’m influenced by the bright colors that’s evident in my Latin culture. I also grew up listening to great Latin music and being surrounded by aunts and uncles in their Sunday best. I can now look back and use those influences in a modern way. I think that style comes from within, not just the clothing you wear. Style doesn’t come with a price tag; it comes from knowing yourself and what works for you. I have a strong belief that hard work and dedication are the keys to success and that talent rises to the top. Any challenges I come across I’ve been able to overcome because of my strong will to succeed. My advice to anyone who aspires to work on Broadway or in the fashion field is to gain as much knowledge as possible. Whether it’s through formal education or internships knowledge is power. —Emilio Sosa, Fashion and theatrical costumer designer
ABOUT THE EXPERTS SPECIAL GUEST: Emilio Sosa is a first-generation immigrant from the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and a graduate of the Pratt Institute. He discovered his passion for design when he was 14 years old and has since achieved his goal of becoming an award- winning fashion and costume designer. In 2006 he was the recipient of the TDF’s Irene Sharaff Young Master Award and named Design Virtuoso by American Theatre Magazine in 2003. He is inspired by historic events which influence his design aesthetic for the stage or the catwalk. Emilio gained national acclaim as a contestant on Season 7 of Project Runway where he won second place and launched Esosa designs with his brother. Since then, he has also served as the costume designer for many Broadway shows and special performance events including Topdog/Underdog, Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (for which he received a Tony Award nomination), Motown the Musical, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. MODERATOR: Michael Griffois an agent at ICM Partners and represents theatrical designers in all five major disciplines - sets, costumes, lighting, sound, and projections. His clients have won Tonys, Drama Desk Awards, Emmys, and Oscars and have designed productions on Broadway, the West End, and at theatres, operas, and ballets all over the world. Michael is also an award-winning playwright and is the author of twelve novels. He received a BA from New York University in Journalism.
OFFICIAL SOURCES REFERENCES EMILIO SOSA https://www.instagram.com/esosafashion/ https://www.rockettes.com/blog/insider-qa-costume-designer-emilio-sosa/ https://www.facebook.com/ESOSAdesign/ https://mintmuseum.org/designer-emilio-sosa-to-visit-the-mint-this-month/ https://twitter.com/esosafashion https://hispanicexecutive.com/from-the-runway-to-the-great-white-way/ PHOTO CREDITS: Motown The Musical production photo by Tristram Kenton • Porgy and Bess production photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times PAGE 2 of 6 AT THIS STAGE • LESSONS THAT PERFORM FEATURING EMILIO SOSA • FASHION & BROADWAY COSTUME DESIGNER EXPLORING IDENTITY
Workshop Title: Exploring Identity Host: Michael Griffo, Author, Agent, Educator LESSON Expert: Emilio Sosa, Fashion and Broadway Costume Designer Standards: ELA, Life Skills, Character Studies PLAN Grade Bands: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 SESSION OVERVIEW Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that make a person or a group. Michael Griffo, host of By Design, will speak with acclaimed fashion and Broadway costume designer Emilio Sosa about the visual clues he uses in his designs to communicate information about a stage character. The session will explore the meaning of cultural identity. In addition to getting insight into a designer’s creative and curatorial process, students will learn to observe colors, patterns, and symbols in the world around them that convey emotional, social, and cultural cues. STUDENT OBJECTIVES VOCABULARY STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: culture (noun) the customs, • Explore the ways in which a personal sense of identity is created arts, social institutions, and • Examine their own sense of identity achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social • Discover the rich array of visuals surrounding us that convey group. information • Understand the creative process of researching, conceptualizing, design (noun) a plan or drawing produced to show the look and designing a costume and function or workings of • Analyze how costumes provide clues to character a building, garment, or other ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS object before it is built or made. • How do we define ourselves? identity (noun) the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or • How can a costume designer utilize fashion elements to reveal expressions that make a person aspects of character on stage? or group. personality (noun) the CREATIVE CONTEXT combination of characteristics or Theatre found Emilio Sosa at a young age. When he was 13 years old, he qualities that form an saw a GQ magazine that featured the first man of color on its cover. He individual’s distinctive character. saved his allowance to purchase it and spent time flipping through the pages instinctively knowing that fashion could and would be an outlet for his artistic style (noun) a distinctive talent. Emilio taught himself to sew. He learned a strong work ethic from his appearance, typically parents who were committed to providing a better future for their children. determined by the principles according to which something He is a first-generation immigrant from the Dominican Republic who grew is designed; elegance and up in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970’s and attended the prestigious Pratt sophistication. Institute. He started his career at 21 years old as a shopper buying buttons and threads and sweeping the shop floor at the end of the night. Today he is taste (noun) the ability to designing for his own fashion line called ESosa, as well as Broadway shows discern what is of good quality and other theatrical events—often tapping into his Latin culture, the root of or of a high aesthetic standard. all his designs.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED: CCSS [Grades 5-12 • Writing: 2, 4, 7, 9, 10 • Speaking & Listening 1, 2, 4, 5,6] National Core Arts Standards: Anchor Standard 2 • NYC Blueprint - Theatre Making:Designing, Developing Theater Literacy
AT THIS STAGE • LESSONS THAT PERFORM PAGE 3 of 6 FEATURING EMILIO SOSA • FASHION & BROADWAY COSTUME DESIGNER EXPLORING IDENTITY CLASS ACTIVITY DO NOW: Interesting Facts About Me Exercise (10 minutes) Distribute index cards to students. Have each one of them write an interesting fact on the card. Ask them to choose something that other people wouldn’t generally know about them or something that couldn’t be guessed just by looking at them. Collect the index cards. Shuffle the cards and read off each detail, asking students to guess who the fact is from. ASSESSMENT: Ask students about commonalaties they may have noticedamong the shared details. Have students share other ways in which our identities are similar and unique. MAIN ACTIVITY: Designing My Character (30 minutes) PART 1: Ask students to create their own character from scratch. Students should recall the aspects of identity discussed during the session and utilize their own ideas about character traits to write up all of the attributes of this character in paragraph form or as a bulleted list. Students should ensure they are as detailed as possible to have many options. PART 2: Challenge students to create a costume for their original character and sketch it out to the best of their ability. Students should be sure their costume reveals the many aspects of their character and should make clear notes on the sketch to explain the important details and connections. ASSESSMENT: Encourage students to share their designs and explain all of the interesting ways in which the small details of their creations revealed important aspects about the character. Students should also explain the inspirations and influences that informed the design.
Do Now adapted from: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-li- brary/identity-and-community/who-am-i Images from: https://www.facebook.com/ESOSAdesign/photos
PAGE 4 of 6 AT THIS STAGE • LESSONS THAT PERFORM FEATURING EMILIO SOSA • FASHION & BROADWAY COSTUME DESIGNER EXPLORING IDENTITY SESSION NOTES STUDENT NAME: ______BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE: What is identity? What makes each of us who we are?
MEET THE ARTIST: What did you learn about the processs of costume design?
SESSION LESSON: Describe a Broadway costume and detail what it revealed about character:
LESSON EXTENSION: What could you utilize in your surroundings to inspire design?
AT THIS STAGE • LESSONS THAT PERFORM PAGE 5 of 6 FEATURING EMILIO SOSA • FASHION & BROADWAY COSTUME DESIGNER EXPLORING IDENTITY REFLECTIONS QUESTION: What events in your life have helped shape your identity?
CONNECTION: Interview a member of your family or friends about how their cultural background helped to define their style or taste:
APPLICATION: Describe some favorite items in your wardrobe and/or your room that have significance and say something abut you:
EXPLORATION: Think about words that would describe aspects of your identity and use them below to complete the “I am:” statements. Explain how each word is part of who you are. I AM ______:
I AM ______:
I AM ______:
I AM ______:
PAGE 6 of 6 AT THIS STAGE • LESSONS THAT PERFORM