Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500442
32 • THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2023 How did you both become attached to this project, History of the World: Part II, and what drew you to it? Theraesa: We were first contacted by the costume designer Beth Morgan. We've worked with her before on other projects, and she called and said, "You guys have to do this show with me, it's going to be so much fun." We've done other shows where we've created char- acters together or recreated books or similar challenges. Erin Owens contacted us, interviewed us, and we met with Nick and Ike and got the job from there. Lana: To get to work with Mel, too, on a Mel Brooks project. That was like my whole childhood, so I definitely wanted to be a part of it. Theraesa: When we got off the phone from having the initial call, we both were screaming on the phone and talking about History of the World: Part I. We were truly excited and couldn't stop talking about being little kids watching History of the World: Part I. What's also funny is I really wasn't supposed to be watching (part one) because it was a little risqué, but I was watching it anyway. I just never could have imagined as a little girl that one day I would be working on a Mel Brooks project. It's truly a dream come true. What can you say about working with showrunner David Stassen? How was it working with Mel, Nick, Ike, and Wanda? Theraesa: Working with David Stassen was truly exceptional—obvi- ously, he is extremely talented and watching him run the show is genuinely amazing. He has an extreme amount of patience—we were filming when COVID was very much still going on, and so we would have a lot of hiccups, sketches that had to be canceled because of actor availability or an actor coming in. Then they would end up getting COVID so then they'd end up not coming in. So, there's always a lot of changes and things happening. But he always seemed very calm and just kind of rolled with the punches and was always truly kind to the crew and just a lovely person to work for and be around. As far as working with Nick, Wanda, and Ike, I honestly have to say the same thing about them. It was interesting to see them come in and not only be writing but acting and producing as well. They were always in a good mood and there was always lots of laughter on the set. Just the way that they interacted with Lana and I as far as if there were changes or last-minute things that came up. They were always willing to be open-minded and collaborate in a fun way with hair, make-up, and costumes and, you know, if there was something we couldn't do because it was last minute, it was like, "Okay, well, what's another thing or another way we could do it?" They were just very open and easy to work for and just lots of laughter all the time. PHOTOS BY AARON EPSTEIN/HULU HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART II AN INTERVIEW WITH T H E R A E S A R I V E R S | DEPARTMENT HEAD HAIR AND L A N A H O R O C H O W S K I | DEPARTMENT HEAD MAKE-UP