Costumes
From the Other Sky Build
I had the pleasure of designing and creating headpieces for the premier of From the Other Sky composed by Wang Jie. Follow my process from sketches on the back of an envelope to finished headpieces.
From the Other Sky
“Experiencing human compassion for the first time, a Zodiac Goddess loses her place in the heavens to share her music power with mankind.” – Wang Jie, composer
The American Composers Orchestra premiered From the Other Sky, a narrative song cycle at Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, October 15, 2010. I had the pleasure of designing and creating headpieces to give character to a very talented group of performers. I was even able to make a monkey out of the composer!
Composer: Wang Jie
Coloratura, Soprano: Emily Hindrichs / Mezzo-Soprano: Krysty Swann / Director, Actor: Hugh Sinclair / Keyboards: Wang Jie
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio
The A.I. Project
A dance theater project conceived and created by Karen Getz that explores the world of Artificial Intelligence and its relationship with humanity.
Presented by Amy Kaissar and Bristol Riverside Theater
Conceived and created by Karen Getz
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Scenic Design: Mark O’Maley / Lighting Design: Shelley Hicklin / Sound Design: Christopher Colucci
Featuring: James Sugg, Dito Van Reigersberg, Dave Jadico, Heather Murphy and Makoto Hirano
Ghost Light
A ghost or a mad man, what haunts this run down New York City motel room?
Presented by The Immediate Theater Company and Monarch Theater
Written by Desi Moreno-Penson
Directed by Jose Zayas
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Scenic Design: Jason Simms / Lighting Design: Evan Purcell / Sound Design: David Margolin Lawson / Multimedia Design: Alex Koch
Featuring: Kate Benson, Hugh Sinclair and Bryant Mason
The Mechanical
An exploration of science, mechanics, myth and history, this play combines the stories of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, Wolfgang von Kempelen’s Mechnical Man, and the life of inventor and showman Johann Maelzel to create a magical theatrical event.
Presented by Bond Street Theatre
Written by Michael McGuigan
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Lighting Design: Benjamin Tevelow
Featuring: Brian Foley, Meghan Frank, Richard Newman, Joanna Sherman, Joshua Wynter and Anna Zastrow
Southern Promises
The narrative of a southern plantation and the slave who escapes it, told with the aggressive tongue in cheek humor of Thomas Bradshaw.
Photograph by Elinor Carucci for The New Yorker Magazine
Presented by Performance Space 122
Written by Thomas Bradshaw
Directed by Jose Zayas
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Scenic Design: Ryan Elliot Kravetz / Lighting Design: Evan Purcell / Sound Design: David M. Lawson
Featuring: Peter McCabe, Lia Aprile, Jeff Biehl, Hugh Sinclair, Erwin E.A. Thomas, Sadrina Johnson, Derrick LeMont Sanders, and Matt Huffman
The Coronation of Poppea
Monteverdi’s opera telling of Nero’s passions, namely Poppea. Although period instruments were used, this production strived for a more modern feel, presenting the show at the night club Le Poisson Rouge and opting for costumes that had period elements but a contemporary silhouette.
Presented by Operia Omnia
Music Director: Avi Stein / Stage Director: Crystal Manich / Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Lighting Design: Evan Purcell
Featuring:
Hai-Ting Chinn, Cherry Duke, Melissa Fogarty, Jeffrey Mandelbaum, Steven Hrycelak, and Molly Quinn
A Christmas Carol
A unique adaptation of the classic play using only two actors, plenty of costume props, and a cast of puppets. Shown below are renderings for Scrooge, Marley, and the Ghost of Christmas Present, a costume that needed to stand alone as well as be worn.
Presented by Epiphany Theater Company
Adapted by James Armstrong
Directed by Jose Zayas
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Scenic Design: Mark Erbaugh / Lighting Design: Evan Purcell / Sound Design: Amy Altadonna / Puppet Design: Gretchen Van Lente
Featuring: George Deihl, Jr. (Dickens) and Hugh Sinclair (Scrooge)
Timberlake Studios
A fantastic costume studio where I began my New York costume career. During the years I worked there we made costumes for Broadway, dance, opera and the Macy’s parade! Below are a few examples of costumes I made during that time.
For more information about Timberlake Studios visittimberlakestudios.com
Sleeping Beauty’s Attendant – Designed by Donnie Sanders
Patterned and built by Carla Bellisio for Timberlake Studios
Bloomingdale’s Holiday Windows 2005
Photo courtesy of V. Jane Windor
Little Red Riding Hood – Designed by Donnie Sanders
Patterned and built by Carla Bellisio for Timberlake Studios
Bloomingdale’s Holiday Windows 2005
Photo courtesy of V. Jane Windor
“Gold Act” at The Big Apple Circus 2007 – Designed by Sarah Conly
Photo courtesy of Big Apple Circus
Spunk
Three stories by Zora Neale Hurston about love and life in the south. Vibrant, musical and warming, this production of Spunk had a transient cabaret feeling, allowing the actors to create “improv” characters out of props and costumes.
Presented by Carnegie Mellon University
Adaptation by George C. Woolfe / Based on stories by Zora Neale Hurston
Directed by Carlos Armesto
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Scenic Design: Marie Lynn Wagner / Lighting Design: Mike Lagrotteria / Sound Design: Alana Schmidt
Featuring: Ashley Sherman, J.D. Goldblat, Gaius Charles, Nicholas Guidry, Demetrius Gross and Susan Heyward
Letters to a Student Revolutionary
A rebellious American teen and a conservative Chinese girl become improbable pen-pals after a family vacation. Through their letters they learn of each other’s lives and cultures until the Tiananmen Square massacre changes everything.
Presented by Carnegie Mellon University
Written by Elizabeth Wong
Directed by Rachael Hospidar
Costume Design: Carla Bellisio / Scenic Design: Milo Train / Lighting Design: Evan Purcell
Featuring: Angela Lin, Rhyn McLemore, Elizabeth DeRosa, Ben Murray, Leslie Odom and Ryan Young