Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1514620
46 • THE ARTISAN SPRING 2024 evolving professionally. She changed jobs from Season 1-2, so we wanted to evolve her look from Season 1. Therefore, we changed her texture with her wig units a few times. Adding passion twists also helped (a more defined curly texture hair being twisted into her hair to create a sister two-strand twist). She played with a few updos and scarfs as well. Coach Marcus had to look like a southern baseball coach. He was almost a professional baseball player before a career-ending injury. We pulled images of Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. He needed to always look well groomed. When he had a mental breakdown during the season, it was the only time we left him unkempt. Keisha is the "It" girl on campus who changed her major to dance. So, she always wore trendy hair styles. She wears her own hair most of the time. As a result, we set aside time weekly to do hair treatments to ensure we kept her hair healthy. We also use heat-free hair styles, protective styles (braids and flat twist outs, etc.) this season and showcased more of her true texture. Nate's character is non-binary, so Nate's pronouns are she/her. I wanted to give her a look that showcased her journey through this season. She discovers her political side and wants to get into student government. So, her look was business casual with a twist. The key hair stylist, Velveda Nelms, focused on styles that kept her chic and trendy by using full-lace custom wig units, glueless wigs. She's also the campus hair stylist so we had to make sure her hair was always neat. We also have a baseball team. Being from Chicago, and our barber Joshua Paris from Houston, we compared both cultures and came up with silhouettes and styles relevant to today. Men are wearing their hair longer, as well as more natural. From the baseball coach to the players, all have various textured styles. Damon's hair inspiration came from baseball players Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. His style was a little more polished because he was heading to the pros before entering college. Joshua tapered his sides but kept it dark with a light shadow. Damon's hair required a finger coil twistout using a hair pudding for locked-in moisture. We also used a gloss hair spray for shine, in most scenes we wanted his hair to look super healthy. Hair gloss tends to sit on top of the hair. Therefore, we use a gloss so that our guys' hair maintains a healthy sheen. JR's hair gives us that ideal healthy sheen. Cam was a LA native, along with Simone. He played football but had a hidden talent. He's also a singer. So, we wanted to keep him trendy with different braid pattern techniques and individual two-strand twists. Back in the trailer, creativity amongst everyone was encouraged. We came up with new ideas on the spot and sometimes we had to tag team an actor to get them done in time. Working with natural texture hair can take longer because of how fragile the coils are. Our third, Gabby Suarez, helped with every style that came down to a time crunch. All of these looks wouldn't have come to life without a great make- up team lead by Laverne Caracuzzi, Lauren Guzman, and Elizabeta Barczewska. We just worked well together. Thank you to the All-American: Homecoming cast and crew. Special thanks to showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll for creating a space that showcases textured hair. Congratulations on the upcoming Season 3.• L-R: Peyton 'Alex' Smith; Mitchell Edwards as Cam Watkins; Rhoyle Ivy King as Nathaniel; Kelly Jenrette as Amara Patterson; Cory Hardrict; Geffri Maya Hair team, L-R: Velveda Nelms; Ryan Burrell; Gabby Suarez; Joshua Paris Velveda Nelms working on Rhoyle Ivy King