Judy Dearing
Judy Dearing | |
---|---|
Born | 1940 New York, NY |
Died | September 30, 1995 |
Nationality | American |
Citizenship | United States |
Alma mater | Obie Awards and a 1988 Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Image Award |
Judy Dearing (1940 – September 30, 1995) was an American
Biography
Judy Dearing grew up in Manhattan and graduated from City College of New York, majoring in mathematics and science. She began her performance arts career dancing with Miriam Makeba and acting with the Negro Ensemble Company. Her husband was John Parks, a dancer who collaborated with her on a number of dance productions.[1]
Dearing was a resident designer for the Crossroads Theatre, the University of Texas Drama Department, the New Federal Theatre, and the Negro Ensemble Company, as well as for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She designed costumes for a number of regional theaters: Goodman Theatre, the Alliance Theatre, the Hartford Stage, the Guthrie Theatre, the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, GeVa Theatre, Asolo Theatre, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, the Egg, and the Goodspeed Opera House.[2] She designed costumes for broadway productions of for colored girls..., A Raisin in the Sun, Porgy and Bess, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.[3]
In addition, Dearing was a professor of design at
Dearing was a recipient of nine
Productions
Theater
Judy Dearing was the costume designer for the following productions.[7]
- Swinging on a Star (original music revue, dedicated to Costume Designer: Judy Dearing, Oct 22, 1995 - Jan 13, 1996)
- Having Our Say (original play, Apr 06, 1995 - Dec 31, 1995)
- Shimada (original play, Apr 23, 1992 - Apr 25, 1992)
- Once on This Island (original musical, Oct 18, 1990 - Dec 01, 1991)
- Checkmates (original play, comedy, Aug 04, 1988 - Dec 31, 1988)
- Death and the King's Horseman (original play, drama, Mar 01, 1987 - Mar 29, 1987)
- The Babe (original play, solo, May 17, 1984 - May 20, 1984)
- Trick (original play, comedy, Thriller, Feb 04, 1979 - Feb 11, 1979)
- The Mighty Gents (original play, Apr 16, 1978 - Apr 23, 1978)
- for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf(original play, Sep 15, 1976 - Jul 16, 1978)
- The Poison Tree (original play, Jan 08, 1976 - Jan 11, 1976)
- Lamppost Reunion (original play, Oct 16, 1975 - Dec 21, 1975)
- Black Picture Show (original play, Jan 06, 1975 - Feb 09, 1975)
- What the Wine-Sellers Buy (original play, Feb 14, 1974 - Mar 17, 1974
Dance
Dearing was the costume designer for the following productions at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater:
Style
Dearing's designs were celebrated for their authenticity. She developed a folkloric look for the 1990 production of Once on This Island, using printed kente cloth, Dutch cotton prints, raw silk, and chiffon with metallics. "A costume has to appear natural," Ms. Dearing said in an interview that year with The New York Times. "Every night, she added, 'everything has to be set up to look realistic." The Times article indicates that the authenticity of her World War II uniforms is what won her the Obie award for A Soldier's Play.[11]
In the 2010 edition of
The fluid dresses, designed by the late Judy Dearing, took on colors from the set design, imbuing each lady with a persona and each persona with a unique deific principle marking the journey of womanhood. The personal story of a woman became every woman, the solo voice becoming many. Each poem fell into its rightful place, a rainbow of colors, shapes, and timbres of voice, my solo instrument blossoming into a cosmic chamber ensemble.[12]
In 1996, The Black Theatre Network established the biennial Judy Dearing Design Competition to encourage African American students of design.[13]
References
- ^ Sullivan, Ronald (4 October 1995). "Judy Dearing, Costume Designer And Former Dancer, Dies at 55. (October 4, 1995). The New York Times". The New York Times.
- ^ "WIND Bios: Judy Dearing. (n.d.). Mount Holyoke College Department of History".
- ^ "Collection". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
- ^ "Judy Dearing. (October 9, 1995). Variety". 9 October 1995.
- ^ Sullivan, Ronald (4 October 1995). "Judy Dearing, Costume Designer And Former Dancer, Dies at 55. (October 4, 1995). The New York Times". The New York Times.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
- ^ "Judy Dearing. (n.d.). Internet Broadway Database".
- ^ "Nubian Lady. (n.d.). Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater".
- ^ "Blood Burning Moon. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater".
- ^ "Inside. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater".
- ^ "Stylemakers: Judy Dearing, Costume Designer. (October 21, 1990). The New York Times". The New York Times. 21 October 1990.
- ^ Shange, N. (2010). For colored girls who have considered suicide, when the rainbow is enuf: A choreopoem. New York: Scribner
- ^ "BTN Competitions. (n.d.)".