From Emma – A Borrower and a Lender Be

The incredibly good looking Darkness family, in costume

There are so many reasons that Young Playwrights’ Festival is my favorite time of year: piles of giant cardboard props accumulating all over the building; costumes for animals, objects, and supernatural creatures hanging off of anything hang-off-of-able; directors playing music from their plays around the office as they assemble sound cues (this year, Mr. Bill George has discovered a deep, abiding connection to the music of Taylor Swift); and gleeful anticipation for a magical performance night.

One little detail I look forward to every year is borrowing.

A lizard costume. Really!

It’s a simple thing to enjoy. It’s now a tradition that I contact the beautiful and talented Pam up at Lehigh’s costume shop to borrow a knight’s outfit, half a dozen lab coats, a set of crowns, a lizard costume (really!) to give my play a little more visual oomph. I have no eye for costuming, but I count myself incredibly fortunate to be able to borrow from Pam, who is a costume goddess. This year, my costume search also had me wandering over to the fabulous and talented Bill at PYT, also willing to lend a helping hand.

In need of a couple of thrones this year, I grabbed the wonderful and talented Caitlin from Lehigh’s scene shop and drove out to Allentown, where they have their warehouse, and borrowed two poofy red chairs.We carried the chairs downstairs via a wonderfully creepy, manually operated old-fashioned elevator (really!), with shafts of sunlight illuminating dust motes as we went. Sweet.

But this year, something new and exciting is happening. This year, I’m actually loaning, too.

From my personal costume closet, last seen in YPF 2011’s “Killer”

Two out of three princesses are getting costumed from my stash of princess dresses (did I not mention? We have three “princess plays” in this year’s Festival) (really!). Oversized cardboard prop #57 is made from a box that lived in my bedroom closet. I also get to throw in costume proposals for a witch, a genie, a hoard of creepy villagers, all out of costumes and props that I own. I love it. I love recognizing items onstage and seeing them as part of someone else’s play.

In the bigger picture, I think this makes me smile because this is part of how theatre – especially a community of theatre artists living and working close to each other – works well. If person A doesn’t have it, person B can lend. If person B doesn’t have it, person A can lend. We support each other. And it makes all the difference.

Now, then, I’m off to spruce up my beautiful borrowed thrones.

See you at the Festival!