Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1475069
26 • THE ARTISAN FALL 2022 ANGELYNE TAKES CENTER STAGE KATE BISCOE: MAKE-UP DESIGNER In May 2019, I was contacted to design the make-up for a top- secret project that would later reveal itself as Angelyne. It was to be NBC Peacock's first original limited series, directed by Lucy Tcherniak and starring actress/producer Emmy Rossum in the role of the enigmatic Los Angeles billboard persona. I was familiar with the infamous 2017 Hollywood Reporter article by Gary Baum, which "outed" Angelyne's "true identity." Hence, I was hesitant to join a project that would revisit a woman's intentionally hidden past. My concerns were put to rest upon meeting Lucy and Emmy. This story would challenge The Hollywood Reporter's narrative by presenting many conflicting versions of events, playing with the concept of identity. The script was like the film Vice: The story spanned seven decades and required several historical characters' aging. However, Angelyne was different because of the nonlinear plot centered around a woman. Vincent Van Dyke, with whom I'd worked closely before, came on board to be the prosthetic designer. In an initial meeting, Emmy asked us if we had ever done something this challenging before. We had not. She admitted she hadn't either and had been on a show for nine seasons where she wore little make-up (Shameless). We unanimously agreed that we needed to prove we could do this; failure was not an option. Over the following months, Emmy became a frequent visitor to Vincent's shop, and I practically moved in. PHOTOS: ISABELLA VOSMIKOVA/PEACOCK THE MAKE-UP & HAIR TEAM SHARES THE SPOTLIGHT Soon after, hair stylist Martin Samuel joined our team. I had not worked with Martin before, but I knew we'd be lucky to have him ... and I wasn't wrong—his hair design was exquisite. Apparently, the ueen of England thinks so too. As I write this, Martin is on his way to London's Buckingham Palace to be made an MBE: A member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry rewarding his invaluable contributions to the arts. To move forward, Peacock needed renderings to help pre- visualize the various stages of age make-up Emmy would need to go through. I set off to buy an iPad and learn the program Procreate. Thankfully, my drawings passed muster, and production was given the green light to proceed. Throughout the next seven months, Vincent, Martin, and I continued researching, designing, and testing all characters. We went into production in February of 2020 with the addition of our core make-up team: Assistant Department Head Ann Pala Williams, key Abby Lyle Clawson, key Steve Costanza, prosthetic make-up artist Mike Mekash and make-up PA Victoria Vesy (now a new Local 706 member!). While Ann and Steve each did prosthetic make-ups in addition to the principal character make-ups, Mike and Abby were my partners on the Angelyne prosthetic application, adding a fourth artist for the oldest (five-hour) stage; Jamie Hess, Bart Mixon, or Jason Hamer. Technician Bob Smithson handled the multiple sets of contact lenses painted by Cristina Patterson that changed Emmy's brown eyes to blue. The pandemic hit on March 12, 2020, and we shut down.