Behind the stage, tucked in the back of the playhouse, there stands a small room decorated with fabrics and lined with racks of clothing, noisy with the clatter of sewing machines, the snip of scissors and the rolling of measuring tape. This is the costume shop of San Pedro Playhouse, run by resident costume designer and costume shop manager Rachael Lorenzetti, alongside her team of four student interns.
Lorenzetti has overseen costumes at the Playhouse for three years, designing or supervising more than ten productions annually. From sourcing fabrics to fittings with actors, every costume that appears on stage passes through her hands. Their upcoming production of “Frozen,” opening in November, requires over 100 costumes.
“It is the biggest show we have done here since I started,” Lorenzetti said. “So, kind of freaking out inside.”
Big shows like “Frozen” can mean up to 240 hours of work for Lorenzetti, she said, but she doesn’t take on the challenge alone. Her team of student interns, recruited from Trinity University, San Antonio College (SAC) and University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), help bring the costumes to life while learning the craft.
One of those interns is Josafine Lloyd, a senior political science major, who is in their second semester in the shop. They discovered the position on Handshake.
“I came across being a seamstress, and I’m like, you know what, I may not have the qualifications, but I’m gonna try,” Lloyd said. “I think it helps broaden horizons, because I did not think that I was going to have a job like this at all. And I also think it’s better for people to get out into the community so that way they know what’s out there.”
For Lloyd, that means building simple pieces like aprons, headbands and skirts, while observing Lorenzetti and fellow interns tackle more advanced designs. But no matter their skill level, every student’s work matters.
“Pretty much they are why the work gets done,” Lorenzetti said. “There would never be any feasible way I could do ‘Frozen’ by myself. The costumes depend on them.”
Among those students is Joey Rios, junior dramatic arts major at UTSA, who started as a stitcher and backstage dresser three years ago. Since then, he’s advanced to co-designing shows such as “Fantastikos” and “Hairspray.”
“It’s fun. I get to sew cool things all day,” Rios said. “The amount of people that I tell like, ‘Oh, I can sew.’ And they’re like, ‘Can you fix my pants?’ I think it’s a skill everybody needs.”
For Ashley Diaz, UTSA junior dramatic arts major, the costume shop has opened doors to the broader theater world. Though she dreams of working in film sound, the hands-on experience has given her a deeper appreciation for live performance.
“When you don’t know about theater, you think, ‘Oh, you just put that on,’” Diaz said. “But it’s hours and hours of work. Not just us—it’s scene, props, everything. And people don’t see that.”
Even the newest intern, Kylie Montelongo, a sophomore nursing major at SAC sees the value of getting involved. With a background in school productions, she jumped at the chance when Lorenzetti substituted for her theater appreciation class and mentioned the opportunity.
This past summer, Lorenzetti and team’s work was even featured at the McNay Art Museum for their costumes in a “Midsummer Sueño,” a take on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” put on two years ago. The costumes blend Mexican culture with Elizabethan fashion of Shakespeare’s time.
For Lorenzetti, teaching is as much a part of the job as designing. Students come in at all different levels — some learning to thread a machine, others ready to lead projects — but all contribute to the final production.
“It’s me at the helm,” Lorenzetti said, “but it does not get done without them.”
As San Pedro Playhouse grows in scope, so does its impact on students and the San Antonio community. You can see “Frozen” at the San Pedro Playhouse Nov. 21 to Dec. 23.
