----------------~aOOmh~ MCKAY MURRAY BRINGS CHARACTERS TO LIFE Costumes gave life to characters of dramatic productions at Harding such as Spring Sing, the Homecoming musical and one-act plays. In turn, costume shop coordinator McKay Murray gave life to those costumes through her creativity, talent and experience. Murray's involvement with the university's theatrical productions began in 2007 when she assisted as a volunteer. At that time, the costume storage and work area was limited to the Administration Building's basement. When the theatre department moved to the Ulrey Performing Arts Center, Murray became the full-time costume designer for all of Harding's productions and had access to a much larger workspace. Sophomore Jessica Goellner, one of the costume design student workers, enjoyed the time she spent working on costumes under Murray's direction. "[Murray] has a good vision for what she wants," Goellner said. "She's super sweet, orderly, focused and fun. She can figure out how to make things work off the top of her head." Being able to quickly solve problems Kathy Allen, Asst. to Dir. Res. Life Barbara Ashley, Admin. Asst. to Dir. Kari Aziamov, Cust. Relations Fin. Aid Bob Barnett, Preventive Main Serv. Spec. Patty Barrett, Dir. Res. Life Hannah Beall, Dir. News Services Public Relations Donald Bennett, Pressman Deborah Berry, Admin. Asst. to Exec. VP Ken Bissell, Sr. Officer, The Harding Fund Lyn Blansett, DBA Oracle 9i & 11 g OCA Penny Bohannan, Admin Asst. Bus. Office Launa Bookwalter, Asst. to Lib. Dir. 212 I Leadership was useful when costumes malfunctioned during a performance, and Murray's expertise allowed her to create a solution in seconds. For example, senior Amanda Lane recalled an instance during the production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 2010 when her heel caught the hem of her skirt and ripped it, but Murray was able to swiftly fix it backstage. "My motto is 'keep calm, just take a breath,"' Murray said. "Everything is going to be OK." Frenzied costume repairs were only a small portion of Murray's work for the theatre department though. Prior to a production's debut, Murray spent many hours with the directors to draft possible costume designs for each character in a production. She determined how to best portray a character using fabric, a specific clothing style and accessories. Before finalizing her deci"sions, Murray collaborated with the set designer to ensure that her selections fit the lighting and set design. Then she measured each actor, so she and her team of student workers could custom-fit each costume. The amount of costumes Murray created depended on the requirements of each production. Most plays performed in the Ulrey needed fewer costumes than performances in the Benson Auditorium. Occasionally Murray and her team were responsible for producing more than 200 individual costumes when a play required multiple costume changes. "The challenge with the musicals in the Benson is just the quantity," Murray said. "[Costumes] usually are not that hard to do. It's just that there are so many." After performances ended, Murray stored the costumes and accessories in the Ulrey. A large room housed hundreds of costumes catalogued by the performance in which they were used. The organization allowed costumes to be easily accessed for future productions. "The storage room is a wonderland," Assistant Professor of Theatre Dottie Frye said. Frye said the quality of Murray's work revealed her dedication to the theatre department. She praised Murray for being the soul behind the costumes. Even though Murray never performed before a live Harding audience, her contribution to each production was just as vital as the actors themselves. Henry Gonzalez/Laura Chambers
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