The faint hum of a sewing machine drifts from the room, mixing with the sounds of rustling fabrics. He sits at a table laden with spools of thread, scissors and empty coffee cups.
To his left, a flowing cape split down the back fits snugly on a mannequin, ready for a body-length zipper to be sewn in. A retro jacket of screaming neon has been prepped for shoulder pads, and a rack nestled into the back of the room sags with the weight of costumes.
Kevin Koski is only 26 years old, but he plays an important role in suspending disbelief. As the costume shop manager for the Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, he does more than just make costumes: He recreates time periods, duplicates fashion trends and helps transport audiences to another time and place.
“I love pushing boundaries,” Koski said of his approach to his work. “Alexander McQueen said he wants people to fear the women he dresses. I don’t necessarily want people to fear my costumes, but I love what that inspires.”
“Doctor Cerberus” will make its Maine premiere Oct. 22 at the Bangor Opera House on Main Street. It transports viewers inside the imagination of 13-year-old Franklin Robertson, a misfit. His comfort in life comes from the horror movies he watches Saturday nights on a black-and-white television in his basement. Horror host Doctor Cerberus becomes an important part of Franklin’s life, delivering him from his reality. The play is a coming-of-age story, chronicling Franklin’s journey into adulthood and told with flashbacks to the 1980s — a time period Koski has been reimagining for the past few months.
“In this script we know it’s 1983 and we go to 1987 by the end of the play, so with that jump I know that I have this range of time to work in. … I love the ’80s. It was boundary pushing. It was fun,” Koski said. “People were able to express themselves through fashion.”
Koski, a 2011 graduate of the University of Maine, came into the role of costume shop manager after working his way up through the company, starting with a pink-and-white gingham skirt suit for “ Always… Patsy Cline” in 2012.
The costume process for “Doctor Cerberus” began a few months ago, starting with multiple read throughs of the script, a lot of detailed note taking and conversations with producing artistic director Bari Newport.
“What’s my vision on this? How do I see these characters?” Koski asked as he sat behind his work space explaining the process through which he and Newport approach each show. “We sit down and go from page one to the end and hash it out. How do you feel about this person? Who is this person? We decide what their personality is like. What clothes would they buy? Does their mother buy their clothes? Do they do it themselves?”
Playing the title role of Doctor Cerberus and several other characters is quick-change artist Mark Chambers, last seen at the Bangor Opera House in “ The Mystery of Irma Vep” in 2014. Chambers will play multiple characters in the show. Although quick change is his speciality, it’s up to Koski to make the costumes work, too.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of quick changing,” Koski said. “He has another character he’s playing in less than a page, so I have to get him off stage, drop that whole costume, get him in a new costume and back on the other side of the stage in one page. … It’s an art to figure out how to do that.”
Detail orientedness is paramount. Koski even has to consider which way the costumes unzip in relation to the direction the actor or actress will be walking backstage. In addition to the work on the costumes themselves, Koski did exhaustive research beforehand to create the looks.
“You find magazines, you find articles, you look up old news stories. You do whatever you have to do to find pictures of people from this time that may look like that character or feel like that character,” he said.
After building image pallets — or presentation slides — for each character, Koski has about a month to turn in rough designs. Full sketching, outlining and watercoloring follows, then finally the time comes to start pulling things together. Then Koski takes a trip up to the costume storage area, which is stuffed with more than 5,000 pieces of costumes.
“We just start digging,” he said.
Once every option in the building has been exhausted, Koski either reaches out to other companies that offer costume rentals, visits local thrift shops or shops online. Then it’s time to get the actors and actresses in for fittings.
“You basically play dress up and go through each of their looks,” Koski said. “Let’s put them on your body, let’s pin, let’s fit, let’s clip.”
Communication with the actors and actresses is important, as well.
“Are you comfortable? Do you like what you’re wearing? Am I on the same page with you?” Koski asks, recalling the conversations he has with those he fits for costumes. “They are that character. They know better than you half the time who that person is.”
Usually Koski is in charge of the entire costuming process, but Emma Dean, a graduate of Oklahoma State University, recently came on as an intern to help out. She has been working with Koski on the show, most recently tackling a wig for the costume for Lydia, a character in the show. The bangs of the wig were feathered and teased to allow for extra volume and a distinctly ’80s look.
The first preview of “Doctor Cerberus” is Oct. 22. The show will run through Nov. 8. Once the show begins, Koski’s job is over — for now.
“We never step backstage. After the show starts, I’m not allowed to touch anything,” Koski said. Instead a team of stagehands, or “dressers,” work behind the scenes, pulling wigs, dresses and shoes off the actors and actresses.
“It’s a huge collaborative effort between everyone backstage and myself,” Koski said.
“Doctor Cerberus” will show at the Bangor Opera House at 7 p.m. Oct. 22, 23, 28 and 29; at 5 p.m. Oct. 24; at 3 p.m. Oct. 25; and at 8 p.m. Oct. 30.