Our Take On Twelfth Night Garb

For our upcoming production of Twelfth Night, our incredible costume designer Suzy Campbell has taken inspiration from the artwork of 20th-century illustrator and stage designer Ivan Bilibin. Born outside St. Petersburg, Bilibin became famous in 1899, when he released his illustrations of Russian fairy tales. He travelled in the Russian North between 1902 and 1904, which marked the start of his fascination with Slavic folklore and old architecture. On the subject of traditional, Russian architecture, he once wrote, “the main principle… is that the detail should never drown the whole.” It was this aesthetic ideal combined with his Russian background that made his artwork a uniquely singular inspiration for this production’s costume design. Because Twelfth Night is about an adventure in a strange, new land and the comedic outcomes of cultural misunderstandings, Suzy found his cleverly-detailed, fantastical illustrations to be a perfect fit for this Shakespeare comedy. 

Image complied by Suzy Campbell

For more information of Bilibin’s art, see http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/the-art-of-ivan-bilibin/

Ebony Burton and the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival →

Heather Harvey ‘11—who will be playing Viola in our production of Twelfth Night (July 5 thru August 3)—whipped up this video from a short interview she conducted with Ebony Burton ‘11. Ebony is not only the master electrician for OSTF, but she’s also the lighting designer for Light up the Sky (July 12 thru August 3), a comedy about the screwball process of putting on a Broadway play.


Since the beginning of June, our crew has been hard at work trying to get everything off the ground—sets, costumes, lights—in order to make sure that we’re ready for the opening of The Diary of Anne Frank (June 28 thru August 3). Here’s the kicker: our crew is almost entirely made up of actors, who on top of their shop duties, have to learn their lines. We hope this charming interview will shed some light on how this cross-over between cast and crew makes for an amazing company.


Here’s Ebony after the second day of the “Big Hang,” when all of our lights got pulled up to the dusty rafters, 75 feet above the stage.

Despite the tragic nature of Anne Franks’s last years, most young adults who read her diary that recounts her time hiding from the Nazis find her words completely inspiring, uplifting. We at OSTF are so excited to share the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, with all of you—and we are already hard at work! The wonderful April Rock, has been brainstorming about the costumes for our upcoming production of The Diary of Anne Frank. My favorite part of this inspiration board—other than that she’s paired the bubbly Katy Perry with the cold visage of Gail Patrick—is that April used the term, “higher hems” in her description. Only a costume designer would look at these mid-calf lengths and consider them in the historical context of shrinking skirts. We’re hoping that through this collage, you can get a sense of how historically accurate our adaptation is going to be. Opening night is only four weeks away! See you there. 

Despite the tragic nature of Anne Franks’s last years, most young adults who read her diary that recounts her time hiding from the Nazis find her words completely inspiring, uplifting. We at OSTF are so excited to share the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, with all of you—and we are already hard at work!

The wonderful April Rock, has been brainstorming about the costumes for our upcoming production of The Diary of Anne Frank. My favorite part of this inspiration board—other than that she’s paired the bubbly Katy Perry with the cold visage of Gail Patrick—is that April used the term, “higher hems” in her description. Only a costume designer would look at these mid-calf lengths and consider them in the historical context of shrinking skirts.

We’re hoping that through this collage, you can get a sense of how historically accurate our adaptation is going to be.

Opening night is only four weeks away! See you there. 

Call us at 440-775-8169 or email us at ostf@oberlin.edu in order to reserve tickets to The Diary of Anne Frank. All we need is your name, number, address, and day of the show you’d like to see. Check out our calendar on our website at http://oberlin.edu/ostf/season.html. 

Call us at 440-775-8169 or email us at ostf@oberlin.edu in order to reserve tickets to The Diary of Anne Frank.

All we need is your name, number, address, and day of the show you’d like to see.

Check out our calendar on our website at http://oberlin.edu/ostf/season.html. 

WE'RE BACK! →

http://oberlin.edu/ostf/season.html#calendar

The fifth season of the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival is underway! 

Take a look at our website in order to reserve tickets for our productions, including The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, and Light Up The Sky by Moss Hart.  

Admission is Free!

All three shows are now open and running in rep! 

Check out this trailer for Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock and be sure to reserve your tickets by:

Calling 440-775-8169

Emailing ostf@oberlin.edu

Or stopping by our box office at 67 North Main Street, Oberlin OH

Bus Stop opened this weekend! Don’t miss this amazing production of William Inge’s famous romantic comedy.

Call 440-775-8169 or email ostf@oberlin.edu to reserve your tickets today!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens tomorrow, July 6 at 7pm in Hall Auditorium.

Call 440-775-8169 or email ostf@oberlin.edu to reserve your tickets today!

Check out this article on our upcoming season! →

Bus Stop rehearsals are moving along!