Local 706 - The Artisan

Spring 2023

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42 • THE ARTISAN SPRING 2023 Welcome to Chippendales is a character-driven, period piece that required our team to transform all of our principal actors and dancers using wigs, period haircuts, and period-styling techniques to create the world of the iconic dance club in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1987. We relied on hot roller sets, iron sets, and blowouts to accurately depict the time period. A total of 100 wigs were utilized on this project; 50 custom lace front wigs and an additional 50 stock wigs for our day players and background actors. We also had the task of recreating a number of historical celebrities like Donahue, Peter Bogdanovich, Gabe Kaplan, Sally Jesse Raphael, Gene Shalit, and more. It was a challenging project filled with crazy deadlines and fast wig turnarounds from start to finish. It wouldn't have been possible to execute without the masterful work of my incredible team of Erica Adams, George Guzman, Michele Arvizo, James Harris, Maria Elena Pantoja, and Adriana Lucio. I also have to thank my incredible wigmaker, Rob Pickens of Wigmaker Associates, for his tireless work on this piece. He delivered multiple custom wigs in less than two weeks and provided last-minute rentals when casting was not on our side. A reminder to all of my fellow hair stylists in this industry, it is extremely important to develop a loving, respectful relationship with your wigmaker. B Y B A R R Y L E E M O E D E P A R T M E N T H E A D H A I R — HAIR — CHIPPENDALES ON STAGE Continued on page 44 Their work is crucial to the success of a period piece and they work around the clock to help us meet our deadlines. Although many of the characters in our story are based on actual people, we made the creative decision to recreate some characters historically, while others were only inspired by the spirit of the person being portrayed. The combination resulted in a rich, beautiful landscape of people that helped to elevate the world they were living in. Kumail Nanjiani is mostly known for his comedic work and almost always wears his hair in a way that supports his natural texture. As Steve Banerjee, we wanted to take him into the late '70s with a straight blowout and a deep side part, something Steve was known for. By simply shifting his part and adjusting his texture, Kumail stepped into the dark, mysterious world of Steve Banerjee and is proof that a transformation isn't always a major undertaking. Annaleigh Ashford played Irene Banerjee, the wife of the infamous nightclub owner. There are very few photos that exist of her, but I used what limited information I had to inform my design. Born and raised in Wisconsin, like myself, I wanted her hair to reflect her midwestern upbringing with an all-American, girl-next-door silhouette. I referenced Farrah Fawcett's iconic late '70s look. The haircut and roller set was pulled from a vintage head sheet I found in an old beauty magazine. The original set was too

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