Saawan Tiwari designs American Stage’s ‘Footloose’

ABOVE: The cast of American Stage’s “Footloose.” Photo by Chaz D. Photography.

California native and New York resident Saawan Tiwari didn’t grow up wanting to work in theater. They just loved “The Lion King” as a child.

“It was probably my favorite film growing up,” Tiwari explains. “When I was in eighth grade, the musical was on tour and my parents were planning to take me. By the time I got to the theater I knew what every single costume looked like and the differences between the Broadway show and national tour. I just became obsessed.”

Tiwari saw “Wicked” the next year. “Between the two of them it really planted the seed,” they say. “I became super fascinated in costumes more than anything else. It was all just so interesting; I loved the challenge of a 15-second quick change while on stage.”

That interest evolved into a career. Tiwari obtained their BFA in Theatre Design and Production from the University of Michigan and soon became a full-time costume designer, leading them to St. Petersburg’s American Stage and more.

The professional theatre company is Tampa Bay’s longest running. It’s held American Stage in the Park for more than 30 years; outdoor productions traditionally presented annually. “Footloose,” which is playing now through May 8, is its first since 2019 due to the pandemic.

“Get ready to kick off your Sunday shoes as the high-energy pop musical ‘Footloose’ dances into Demens Landing for American Stage in the Park’s 2022 production,” American Stage describes the production. “Based on the explosive rock-n-roll musical movie, this Broadway hit tells the story of Ren McCormack, a big-city teen who finds himself out of place in a rural town where dancing has been outlawed.

“As he tries to carve out a place for himself, he ignites a revolution in the town as the younger generation rebels against the strict rules of the local preacher,” the synopsis continues. “Through explosive choreography and invigorating songs, ‘Footloose’ celebrates the spirit and optimism of young people fighting for change.”

American Stage enlisted Tiwari to help make that a reality. The show features more than 1,000 pieces of 1980s-inspired clothing and accessories, something Watermark discussed with the openly LGBTQ costume designer ahead of its final round of performances.

WATERMARK: How did you connect with American Stage?

Saawan Tiwari: American Stage actually reached out to me. I think they found me through a director that they were considering for this upcoming season that I had just worked with. He mentioned my name and they reached out to me for two other shows, not “Footloose.”

We did and interview and it went really well –  and with the pandemic, a lot of shows were coming back that had originally been slotted for 2020, so there were designers already hired. So there was a lot of back and forth with who was originally hired, but American Stage was really adamant on giving me an opportunity to come down and work for them, which is incredible. I’m extremely grateful and they were very receptive to what I thought I would need to get the job done, and they treated me incredibly well. They’re really doing a lot of really good work when it comes to diversity and inclusion and putting the funding and the resources behind what they need to do to get to support young and upcoming designers, which is incredible.

“Footloose” has a large cast. What was it like working on such a big project?

I don’t think people think about it when you hear the name “Footloose,” but this is a huge costume show. With the cast full size, the original script calls for about 180 costumes, maybe up to 200. We managed to pare that down to 125 costumes that were on stage – but by the end of the show, we had 125 costumes and we did 577 costume pieces that we were taking care of every single night. So that was probably the biggest challenge, just that it’s so big.

How did you prepare for that?

A lot of the preparation was sort of figuring out what to do ahead of time. American Stage has a really amazing, huge, massive stock, and I knew that I was going to be relying on that a lot on this show. We we managed to use the stock for almost a full show, which is really incredible, and then if you look at what I drew – I rendered the entire show, I drew 125 costumes – we managed to get very, very close to what I initially intended for the show before I’d even seen the stock.

And being able to use stock, we were able to invest our budget into things that would really help bring the show to life. Lots of little pieces. So that was part of it, and another big part of it is that this is also a big show for dance.

Shain Stroff, who’s our director and choreographer, really choreographed this show. They are doing doing crazy things; every number is full out. So the cast has to do so much choreo, and we didn’t have dancewear to give them. So a lot of it was actually retrofitting normal and vintage clothes to be able to accommodate and handle the amount of dance performance they’re doing eight times a week. So that was the other big challenge as well.

What are you most proud of?

I’m so proud of how close we got to the 80s, in terms of the look of it. That was really important to me and it was really important to Shain when we started, that this feel like a show set in the 80s.

Especially with anything after the 70s, because it’s so close to what we wear now, it’s really hard to get things to look period when they look like what we normally wear. So when I watch, I’m just so happy with how the show really reads as the period goes.

If I were to pick one costume that just like really just nailed it on the head, I have to pick two that are worn by Lea Marinelli, who plays Ariel. She has a look that she wears to school that’s just so perfect. What I look at it it’s exactly what I wanted it to look and feel like. She both stands out from the crowd and just looks like a girl who’s going to school. And then also her Prom dress, which is based on an Oscar de la Renta dress from 1981. It just looks fantastic on her and it moves incredibly, especially in the finale when they’re spinning and all sorts of crazy stuff. It’s exactly what I hoped it would be.

Were you familiar with “Footloose” ahead of the production? Why do you think it resonates with audiences?

Obviously I’m familiar with “Footloose” through the general zeitgeist. I think “Footloose” is very familiar in American culture that’s stuck around for a very long time, and especially the songs, of course. I actually had never seen the movie until I took the contract. I did that as part of my initial research.

I think it’s just such a classic 80s film that represents so much of this American ideal of freedom, fighting against the power and standing up for yourself. It’s just very complex and nuanced. It’s a show about loss and grieving and overcoming that. I think American audiences feel that and they like the way that it both feels intelligent but also has so much nostalgia to it.

What about with LGBTQ audiences specifically?

There’s both a level of it being something fun, joyful, colorful and bright about the show, which I think always speaks to our sensibilities. It’s just a celebration, but it’s also a celebration around grief and loss.

Of feeling alone and finding community, which is something that we also as queer people are very familiar with, and we all go through when we’re coming of age. So I think it’s very easy for us to look at the struggles of a lot of the characters and create connections to our own experiences growing up. And maybe even moving to somewhere new for the first time as a queer person and feeling isolated, and then having to find the community and fighting for your life to be visible and to be heard. I think there’s a lot of correlation.

Why is live theatre still so important?

With the pandemic, we all experienced a lot of filmed theatre. There were a lot of options and even Zoom theater, things like that. I’ve thought about this a lot, and there’s something about filmed theater where you just can’t capture that feeling of watching it in person.

You can get really close, and you can try really hard … but part of it is the audience and actor agreement that’s made. You can feel the people with you as you’re watching it. I think the pandemic has made us appreciate what exactly live theater can provide that film experiences just can’t.

In terms of costume design, I think that any show that really resonates visually with people, is because of the designers that stand behind it. If you think about costumes in live theater, there are just things that you can do in live theater that just don’t work on film. There are so many different kinds of fabrics and textiles that just don’t read on film that read incredibly in person. Film is not equivalent to the naked eye, so there’s a practical element of that.

There’s the magic of the quick change, of how how quickly you’re seeing so many different colors in front of you. I preferred designing theatrically because it gives me license to do more. People are willing to buy into the construct of a world more in theater than they are with film.

Even with “Footloose,” which leans really close to reality, it’s still a very designed show. There are very strict color palettes and it’s all done very intentionally, but it makes it more dynamic. I wouldn’t be able to get away with that on film.

What else do you want readers to know?

When you watch the show, just think about how every single piece in that show, every single piece that everyone was wearing, it was chosen. Nobody is wearing anything that wasn’t decided by me or my team for them put on. I think that adds another level of like, “why does he do that? What does that mean?” to the show.

American Stage in the Park’s “Footloose” plays at Demens Landing in St. Petersburg through May 8. Learn more and purchase tickets at AmericanStage.org. Learn more about Saawan Tiwari and his work at SaawanDesigns.com.