E L Hohn
Costume Designer — IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER
EL is a costume designer and dramaturg for theatre and dance, that specializes in new works, socially conscious theatre, and explorations of the creepy and uncanny. As a designer, I strive to create clear, stylized, and honest expressions of character. I think more art should be fun. I like color and I like clothing that reshapes, ungenders, and/or dehumanizes the body. Current projects include designing costumes for Leap and the Net Will Appear with New Georges, collaborating on a devised adaptation of Caucasian Chalk Circle, and developing a site-specific piece about seances and hauntings.
EL is originally from Houston, TX, received her MFA in Costume Design from University of Texas at Austin (UTA) and is currently based in New York City.
IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER was directed by Robert Ramirez and Charles O. Anderson for UTA Theatre in September 2016.
Tarell Alvin McCraney enriches an everyday story about a young runner with striking language and movement, rendering it as epic poetry, deeply rooted in the stories and experiences of the African diaspora throughout the Caribbean and the American South. Characters are named for, and resemble, the Orishas of the Yoruba religion. Our staging was guided and defined by the culture, heritage, and history that are woven throughout. My directors added a movement chorus, and Yoruban dance traditions shaped the choreography and blocking of the show. My goal was to celebrate that lyricism and heritage through clothing: the styling and attention to detail of modern realism, but with the the saturation turned up just past reality. The costume design wedded cool contemporary streetwear shapes and materials with thoughtfully selected prints: strong, bright Ankara patterns, featuring the colors of each character’s Orisha counterpart, for the speaking roles; and fluid, earth-toned shibori-dyed silks for the movement chorus members, who shifted between portraying faceless, ghostly echoes of history and acting as Oya’s neighbors.
