Local 706 - The Artisan

THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2021 • 53 Louisa: For us, we just Googled the period or specific genre. For instance, when we went to do the "Amazing Grace" concert, we pulled from the actual concert footage and would freeze frame for details of the hairdos, specific people in the choir, at the church and things like that. Then, we tried to recreate segments of that footage. Part of your job as a hair stylist or make-up artist is being up in somebody's face. What was the challenge of working with numer- ous directors and filming during COVID? Marietta: It changed a lot of dynamics. Anthony became the director for most of the episodes; we had Neema Barnette for two episodes and Billy Woodruff for one. As far as COVID, I created a system for myself, my team and a great assistant for our back- ground people with a contact tracing sheet. So, if or when we did have an episode of COVID with the background, all we needed to do was look on that sheet to see which team member would have touched that person. It made it so much easier, you know? On some days, before COVID, I had about 25-30 make-up art- ists working. During COVID, the most I think I had was 12 or 14. Everything was individual for all actors and background. We created our own system, a whole master list where everything was cross-referenced. As a department head, I had an amazing team that worked with me, not for me, because we worked together. My key was Caroline Monge and Miley Melendez was my "MacGyver" of make-up artists. Oh yeah! She can make lipstick from bubble gum. Terrell Mullin handled all things for Cynthia. A lot of having the right team is the meshing of personalities, with mutual respect for each other and the work we do. I delegate a lot, because when Anthony changes his mind, you have to think on your feet and be one step ahead. Doing two and three different periods in one day requires a certain level of preparation, and I like to do my homework. I read that script and break it down, knowing that the looks for the background are sometimes much more important than the leads because if the camera catches the wrong background person, it kills the whole thing. We paid special attention to details like tattoos, ear piercings, nose piercings, nail shades, nail lengths, sending out memos on a regular basis to background cast regarding no stilettos, square nails, none of that kind of stuff. No embellishments. All of that stuff had to come into play, and those aren't things you normally think of on a daily basis. A large portion of the series takes place in the '60s. Did you use any looks originating from The Supremes, Diahann Carroll or other historical references? Louisa: Absolutely. Coree Moreno took charge of Cynthia Erivo's overall look style as Aretha, however, my team tried to pull images of anyone popular or recognizable, so people would identify with them quickly, knowing exactly where they were, because they remember those iconic looks. Our biggest challenge is if a wig is not custom made, you don't always get a chance to From top: Carolyn Franklin, left, (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and Erma Franklin (Patrice Covington) in the Franklin home; make-up artist Marietta Carter- Narcisse with Jones; Carter-Narcisse with Courtney B. Vance as C.L. Franklin; Louisa Anthony with Vance.

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