Andrea Hermitt has a BA in Fine Arts from the State University of NY at Albany. She also has a paralegal degree. Her work background has been a mix of Real-estate and design and writing about real-estate, design, and education. Andrea is especially drawn to applied art. She prefers making beautiful things you can use or wear and prefers to take old things and make them new. “This is what attracted me to costuming”, she says. “That and the fact that I have kids who were involved in theatre.”
To date, she has created costumes for a half dozen school productions, and a half dozen community theatre productions. She is the costume designer for Children of Eden. She allowed us to pick her brain a little. Here are her answers to our interview questions:
Q: Is this your first show with Live Arts? If not, what are some of the other shows you have done with us.
A: This is not my first show with Live Arts Theatre. Two Seasons ago, I helped to costume Whistle Down the Wind, and since then, I have costumed or collaborated in costuming a great deal of Live Arts shows including Dorothy Meets Alice, Re-Entry, and Cabaret, among others.
Q: Name two fun facts about you.
A: 1. I homeschooled my kids… they have taught me a great deal. 2. I have the appetite and the sense of humor of a 4 year old. I like my food simple and my comedy extremely silly.
Q: Can you give a preview of the costumes for Children of Eden?
A: In designing the costumes for children of Eden, the first thing I did was get an idea of what the director wanted, which was not biblical at all. I took that and his other suggestions into account and wove a fantasy world in my mind. In the end, I chose a look that is natural and earthy and signifies the beginnings of a universe and all of its purity that also gives a nod toward the stylistic beginnings of all of the cultures that would evolve out of such a beginning. In short, expect the show to begin with a natural and pure aesthetic and burst into a celebration of ethnic fusion.
Q: While Children of Eden is a Biblical show, based on the book of Genesis, it has a universal and timeless message. What does this mean to you?
A: Children of Eden hits me hard in a sensitive place. I am currently watching my children become of age and move into themselves, in a way that is difficult as a parent, regardless of how we may have prepared them for this step. While I am happy for their growth, a line in Children of Eden echos within my heart. “But you cannot close the acorn once the oak begins to grow. And you cannot close your heart to what it fears and needs to know, that the hardest part of love is the letting go.”
You can see Andrea’s beautiful costumes as Children of Eden opens July 15. Get your tickets now!