If Westfield High's costumes for "Tartuffe" look like they were professionally made, it's no accident. The woman who created them, Maria Vetsch of Centreville's Country Club Manor community, used to do it for a living.
She studied clothing and textile design at California State University, Long Beach, and began designing costumes after graduation.
"I WAS HIRED by Disney in 1990 and worked with the entertainment group that does all the theme-park productions at Disneyland," said Vetsch.
She later moved to Virginia and her daughter Crystal attended Westfield, so it was only natural that both mother and daughter became involved with its Theater Department. Crystal graduated in 2004 and is now a GMU student and aspiring playwright, and her mom's been making costumes for Westfield since 2003.
Vetsch started working on the costumes for "Tartuffe" in January and eventually made 16, including formal and elegant coats, dresses, corsets, hats, pants, shirts and vests. First, she researched the history of the play's time period and sketched the characters based on how Theater Director Zoe Dillard wanted them portrayed.
"Then I picked the colors and styles to show [what the characters were like] through their outfits," said Vetsch. "Most of the costumes took about three days each. Then you've got fittings and you have to finish the details."
The lush and rich-looking costumes are a mixture of satins, silks, gauze and even home-decorating fabric — such as light upholstery and curtain fabric — because, said Vetsch, "It fit the time period."
Theater moms Ute Gunn and Judy Jacobson helped with the sewing, as did Nancy Rolfe, who also played a big role in bringing the sumptuous designs to life. "She helped make some of the costumes," said Vetsch. "She makes it all work and pulls it all together."
She said the challenge was getting the clothing to look expensive on a limited budget. "I used a lot of things I learned from Disney in making the costumes," said Vetsch. "They've got to be durable because the show's really physical."
But she especially liked designing clothing for 1690s France because, "In this time period, the costumes were so gorgeous — the silhouettes of the dresses, the guys' jackets and vests — and all the little details of the trims. There's lots of lace, ribbons and buttons. This is the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' time frame; a lot of the costumes were similar."
SO WHY does Vetsch keep helping out at Westfield, although her daughter's graduated? "I like keeping my hand in it," she said. "Working with the students is lots of fun, as is teaching them about the different time periods."
"They're so enthusiastic about learning about the costumes, and they're so appreciative," she continued. "And it's just my way to give back to the community. Seeing the students on stage and seeing it all come together is the reward of all the work."