Dirty Laundry: Unpacking The Costume Closet Johanna Pan

Elizabeth Wislar, Dede Ayite, & Clint Ramos discuss decolonizing the costume imagination. Decolonization is the active resistance against colonial powers. It is a shifting of political, economic, educational, cultural, & psychic independence & power to a nation’s own indigenous peoples. Decolonizing art requires an unlearning of white supremacy; a de-centering of Eurocentric ideals of art, aesthetic, & design; & the dismantling of institutions that are steeped in colonization, including capitalism & white American theatre.

Mentioned In This Episode:
History of Singapore
Colonialism in Singapore Today
Colonization in The Philippines
Filipino-American Colonial Mentality
Colonialism in Ghana
Resisting Colonialism in Ghana
Epigenetics
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Scott Rudin Abuse Allegations

More From Our Guests:
Conscious Costume Profile of Elizabeth
Elizabeth's Website
Daily Beast Profile of Dede
Dede's Instagram
Clint's Column for Deadline
Clint's Website

Additional Resources:
Racial Equity Tools for Decolonization
The Fashion and Race Database
Decolonizing Fashion
Eurocentric Beauty Standards
Sustainability & Colonialism
Visit our Bookshop for more reading recs!

Find Us Online:
Donate or Join Our Patreon
dirtylaundrythepodcast.com

Host: Johanna Pan
Producers: Shayna O'Neill & Johanna Pan
Music: Jay Ong
Audio Engineer: Justin Sabe
Episode transcript

Johanna talks with Cassandra Freeman, Nikiya Mathis, and Cody Renard Richard about Black hair in theatre and film. Black actors' hair needs are continually neglected in the industry; producers are often woefully lacking in knowledge of the time, money, and work required to achieve various hairstyles. Companies often have no relationship with Black hair/wig stylists in their community, and leave Black actors to spend their own money and time on styling for their roles. In this episode, we discuss the ways theatre and film can end Black hair discrimination, and the effects such discrimination has had on Black artists.

Mentioned in This Episode:
Oscar James
Molly Rogers
Bridging The Gap
National Black Hair & Makeup Registry
The CCR Scholarship Program
Broadway Advocacy Coalition

More From Our Guests:
Interview with Cassandra
Cassandra's Twitter
HAIRversations & HAIRstories
Nikiya's Website
Interview with Cody
Cody's Website
Additional Resources:
Black Hair Guide
The CROWN Act
Hair Love, A Short Film by Matthew A. Cherry
8 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Black Women's Hair
How Natural Black Hair at Work Became a Civil Rights Issue
12 Reasons Why Hair Is Important in Black History
Who Decided Black Hair Is So Offensive Anyway?
My Black Hair: A Tangled Story of Race and Politics in America

Visit our Bookshop for more reading recs!

Support The Show:
Donate or Join Our Patreon

Find Us Online:
dirtylaundrythepodcast.com
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Host: Johanna Pan
Producers: Shayna O'Neill & Johanna Pan
Music: Jay Ong
Audio Engineer: Justin Sabe

Transcript

Argh, the sound quality, we know! We had some technical difficulties with our first set of interviews, but we still wanted to share the great things our guests had to say! And don't worry, we've got a brand new mic for Johanna, so she'll sound great moving forward!

Porsche McGovern, Elsa Hiltner, and Jessa-Raye Court join Johanna to discuss feminized labor and achieving pay and labor equity in theatre.

Feminized labor is the incorporation of womxn in the workplace under conditions inferior to men. We see this in theatre where, regardless of gender, costume workers are consistently paid less than their counterparts. There are many reasons, including that NYC costume shops aren't unionized (as opposed to Broadway scenic, lighting, and sound shops), and that we separate the IATSE union for wardrobe (Local 764) from the union for scenic, lighting, and sound stagehands (Local 1). Despite recent achievements, like reaching pay parity on Broadway and Off-Broadway contracts under the IATSE USA 829 Collective Bargaining Agreement, many areas of costume work still lag behind. This is only reinforced by trends in fast fashion, which cheapen the way costumes and clothing are seen by the public.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
The 2020 Survey Results
Take The New Survey!
Porsche’s Website & Patreon
On Our Team
Articles by Elsa: Inequity By Design, A Call for Equal Support in Theatrical Design
Theatrical Designer Pay Resource
Can You Sew This For Me? Instagram
Elsa’s Website & Patreon
Costume Professionals for Wage Equity
NYT Article on The Flea
Statement from Resident Artists of The Flea
Collaborator's Agreement from Johanna's Recent Show
Jessa-Raye’s Website

Visit our Bookshop for reading recs!

Support The Show:
Donate to Dirty Laundry
Join Our Patreon

Find Us Online:
www.dirtylaundrythepodcast.com
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Host: Johanna Pan
Producers: Shayna O'Neill & Johanna Pan
Music: Jay Ong
Audio Engineer: Justin Sabe

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

"The Inside Dirt on Dirty Laundry" or "Just What Is This, Anyway?"

Host Johanna Pan and Producer Shayna O'Neill are here to introduce themselves and the podcast! Find out what to expect from Dirty Laundry's upcoming episodes.

Support The Show:
Donate to Dirty Laundry
Join Our Patreon

Find Us Online:
https://www.dirtylaundrythepodcast.com
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Host: Johanna Pan
Producers: Shayna O'Neill & Johanna Pan
Music: Jay Ong
Audio Engineer: Justin Sabe

Click here for a transcript of this podcast.