SIGNATURE CINEMA BACKSTAGE PASS PAGE TO STAGE THE ART OF COLLABORATION SIGNATURE BOOK CLUB
BEYOND
THE STAGE
A Few of Our Favorite Offstage
Moments from August Wilson’s
How I Learned What I Learned
and Martha Clarke’s Chéri
How I Learned What I Learned
Costume Designer Constanza Romero
discusses the style of August Wilson and the
costume inspiration for her late husband’s play
“[August Wilson] was a man of casual elegance.
He only wore shirts and ties. Our cleaning bills
were through the roof. Then I gave him the idea
of that classic look of the turtleneck and sports
coat. And he tried it and he liked it. Then all of
a sudden it was always the turtleneck and
sports coats. He took that and ran with it.
Because he had been a shirt-and-tie man all
his life, he didn’t like anything loose around his
neck, so if those turtlenecks got a little baggy,
he threw them away. He always had this feeling
that he had to be very proper. This was his look
going to the grocery store and to rehearsal.
He was a belt-and-suspenders-man.
He liked to have everything in place.”
above left: A costume sketch by Constanza Romero.
above right and below: Ruben Santiago-Hudson in
How I Learned What I Learned.
right: David Gallo presents the set design for
How I Learned What I Learned.
Scenic Designer David Gallo
on bringing August Wilson’s
spirit to the set of
How I Learned What I Learned
“[The set is] a kind of paper sculpture.
All of the little pieces of paper, all the
little writings…the way he used to
write on things at the Edison Café,
all the little ways he would compose
his plays through the act of living.
It’s kind of a physical response to
him and his process.”