Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1256324
32 • THE ARTISAN SPRING 2020 was inspired by Clark Gable. Avis's look (Patti LuPone) was inspired by Lucille Ball. Ellen (Holland Taylor) by a mix of Eve Arden and Lana Turner. Henrietta (Maude Apatow) was inspired by a very young Marilyn Monroe, older Shirley Temple and young Liz Taylor. Archie's (Jeremy Pope) inspi- ration was a young Joe Louis, in which we decided to go with a partially customized wig. The looks for Rock Hudson (Jake Picking), Vivian Leigh (Katy McGuinness), Henry Wilson (Jim Parsons) and Anna May Wong (Michelle Krusic) were inspired by the real actors—Wong in looks she wore during the '20s, '30s and '40s. Jean (Mira Sorvino) was inspired by Lana Turner, Dick Samuels (Joe Mantllo) by Alan Ladd, and Claire (Samara Weaving) by Veronica Lake. We replicated the looks for Hattie McDaniels (Queen Latifa) from the actual Oscars in 1940, as well as looks from 1947/48. Most of what we did was traditional wet sets using different pin curl techniques and roller sets on wigs. These were fairly dependent on setting lotion, a little leave-in conditioning spray, water and end papers. I am also very dependent on large hat pins and ball-tipped blocking pins to hold the sets in place. We were extremely fortunate to have a wig oven! Lots of hot rollers were hunted down on eBay but not from that exact time period. We had many sets of old Clairol, Conair and Remington wax core hot rollers for some work in the trailer, as well as background. We had a lot of wigs! About 80 percent of the main cast and guest stars were all in wigs and not all were custom. The only actors not wigged were Jake Picking, Darren Criss, Joe Mantello and David Corenswet. We were able to use their own hair and we cut and colored as necessary. For some day play- ers, we set their own hair. For others, we Frankenstein'd stock wigs or rentals. We made those choices based on what they had to work with and what needed to be achieved depending on the character, wardrobe and make-up. The basement of Stage 12 had rows of hair and make-up stations to accommodate the huge amount of background. The passion from the hair department on this was staggering. They gave it their all and completely outdid themselves—every day! The most work-intensive episode was the fi nale, which had two funerals, two other movie pieces within the story, two separate Red Carpets and two Academy Awards ceremonies. The 1948 Oscars alone had the entire cast and 300 back- ground for multiple days. We brought back guest actors and added others to recreate the people who actually attended that year. Extensive research was necessary to match looks and make them historically accurate. This took some guesswork as details in photos weren't always ideal and never in color which was somewhat of a running theme throughout. This show was a wonderful challenge in maintaining his- torical accuracy; a learning experience every day. As my friend, colleague and ultimate support on Hollywood, Barry Lee Moe, says, "I love a roller set—you never know what you're going to get!" When it comes to period hair, you go with the fl ow and don't fi ght it. Key members of the team were—Barry Lee Moe, George Guzman, Maria Elena Pantoja and Michelle Arvizo absolutely killed it in every way. We had an unreal number of hair styl- ists that were with us almost daily and I am grateful to them all! Sincere thanks to our wig makers, Rob Pickens, Natascha Ladek and Paul Huntley, without whom we would have had barely any hair to do! ———— Michelle Ceglia has been working with hair for 26 years in a career that spans salons, print, fashion, video, television and features. She has been part of the Ryan Murphy family of creatives for more than a decade and her work has been recognized with three Emmy awards and multiple awards and nominations from the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild.