Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1178754
Fall 2019 The Costume Designer 29 Dana Introduction to Labor Representative Woods Photo: Anna Wyckoff Costume Designer Dana Rebecca Woods says, "Politics enters everything we do, from the clothing we choose to wear, to the schools we send our children to. Art and design is an important form of politics and what we do is inherently politi- cal. It's important for our members to make the connection (to politics) and to consider the fact that we are part of a labor union collective bargaining unit." She sees this role of art and politics as a vital component of Costume Design. "We are Costume Designers and artists and what we say through Costume Design; and the things we create through the art of Costume Design are going to last. Imagery is worth a thousand words. How we choose to portray people on camera can have a lasting effect on each person in society." Woods didn't realize she had a perfect background for activism. She attended Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. There she continued her interest in athletics, combined with premed, with the intention to pursue sports medicine. Woods' parents, medical professionals by trade, were also active in local politics. Her mother was Secretary of the Democratic City Committee of New Rochelle, New York; and her father was a member of the New Rochelle Housing Commission and acted as Chair for a part of his tenure. A chance injury and 'Parents Weekend' led the Woods family to attend a theatre performance at the New World Theater Ensemble at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where they saw an advertisement in the program asking for Costume Designers. Her father remarked that she always had an inter- est in fashion and suggested she apply. She did. Woods began working with the Ensemble and learned about theatre from the ground up. In 1992, Woods joined the Costume Designers Guild. She came into the circle of labor champion and CDG Labor Representative Betty Madden. Madden invited her to events where Woods started to ask questions about the move- ment. Her ideas began to take shape as she became increas- ingly involved and passionate about representing workers.