{"id":10963,"date":"2015-02-27T00:17:17","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T08:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=10963"},"modified":"2015-02-26T20:01:07","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T04:01:07","slug":"relishing-theatre-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/02\/27\/relishing-theatre-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Relishing theatre life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rafaella Rabinovich\u2019s designs from Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily directed by William B. Davis at the Jericho Arts Centre. (photo by Steven Hooper)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Rafaella Rabinovich always knew that she wanted to be a theatrical designer, and she became one \u2013 and a successful one at that, without many detours or hiccups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 12, my father gave me a camera,\u201d she said. \u201cI photographed lots of shows and I knew I wanted to frame the stage myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Rafaella Rabinovich\u2019s costumes sing on stage. (photo from Rafaella Rabinovich)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After graduating from a high school for the arts in Israel and the mandatory army service, she enrolled in the set and costume design program at Rakefet Levy Design School for the Performing Arts in Tel Aviv. Upon finishing the program in 2010, she came to British Columbia. Today, she is a respected local set and costume designer, doing what she loves and living in a place she adores.<\/p>\n

Of course, nothing was as easy or simple as it seems from a brief review of her resum\u00e9. \u201cI wanted to make sets. I didn\u2019t care about costumes,\u201d she admitted, \u201cbut the design school where I studied only offered a combined program, so I took both. Now, I do more costumes than sets; it\u2019s easier for me as a woman, but I still love doing sets.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she first came to British Columbia, she didn\u2019t plan on staying. It helped that she was born in Canada and had Canadian citizenship. \u201cI did have a Canadian passport so I wanted to look around and then travel to Africa,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI loved it here so I stayed. I still haven\u2019t gotten to Africa, but it\u2019s in my plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

To justify staying, she applied for a job, with Cirque du Soleil, no less. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to be hired,\u201d she said laughing, \u201cbut they got back to me. I ended up doing two jobs for them. After adding that to my resum\u00e9, it was easier to look for design jobs here. In the beginning, I worked as a waitress a lot. Now, I sustain myself with theatrical designs. I feel lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike many costume designers, she doesn\u2019t wish and never did wish to work in fashion. \u201cI interned with a fashion firm and I learned a lot from them, but fashion doesn\u2019t make my heart sing the way theatre does.\u201d<\/p>\n

She enjoys the variety her chosen profession offers, and she doesn\u2019t shy from the smallest jobs. Circus and movies, commercials and theatre \u2013 they are all significant to her. From a couple costumes for a display at Science World to the set and costumes for the cast of 27 for her latest production, Fiddler on the Roof<\/em> at Abbotsford\u2019s Gallery 7, she has done it all. In the five years since she settled in Canada, she has worked on about 20 projects and, she is actively seeking more.<\/p>\n

Rabinovich said she relishes every aspect of her work, from research to the final audience applause.<\/p>\n

When she does her research for a show, she reads a lot. \u201cFor historical shows, classical paintings are great references. And, of course, I do a lot of research online,\u201d she said. \u201cI also read the plays. I need to know the story, the characters. We might have two stories set at the same time, but if the stories are different, the costumes and sets are different too. Think Oliver Twist<\/em> and Napoleonic France: about the same time, but different places and different stories, different characters. I always need to know the character. Who she is, why she is wearing this hat, this dress. The costume has to complement her personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Rabinovich\u2019s past projects was a play that took place at the end of the 19th century, the same time period as Fiddler<\/em>. \u201cFor that project, we wanted the costumes to be true to the times. But for Fiddler<\/em>, I chose Marc Chagall as my inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

At times, she has collaborated with a director in her artistic decisions. \u201cIf he has a vision of the show, I would respect it,\u201d she said. \u201cHe might say: \u2018I want it sad\u2019 or \u2018It should be happy,\u2019 and I would accommodate his suggestions in my designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sources of the costume materials and sets she creates vary greatly. Some pieces she buys in thrift or regular stores, others she designs from scratch or rents. \u201cI\u2019m not a seamstress but I know how to sew. Sometimes, if the project is on a low budget, I can sew the costumes myself, but usually, I have a seamstress. I know which vintage store in B.C. would be likely to have a fur coat of a certain color or a special type of curtains.\u201d<\/p>\n

She makes all her designs by hand, not on computer like some of her contemporaries. \u201cI\u2019m old- fashioned,\u201d she joked. \u201cI like feeling the fabrics, the textures.\u201d She also likes incorporating lighting into her designs.<\/p>\n

Each project she works on presents a different challenge, she explained, but all of them embrace their own rewards. \u201cSeeing your vision come to life, take shape on stage, is wonderful. When you hit the right note, when you think, \u2018Yes, that\u2019s it!\u2019 its feels good. And of course I love it when the audience applauds, when the actors wearing my costumes are happy. I\u2019m behind the stage, invisible to the public, and I like it that way, but I\u2019m part of it. They applaud my costumes, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallery 7 Theatre\u2019s performance of Fiddler on the Roof<\/em> is on stage March 13- 21 at the Abbotsford Arts Centre. For more information, visit gallery7theatre.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafaella Rabinovich\u2019s designs from Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily directed by William B. Davis at the Jericho Arts Centre. (photo by Steven Hooper) Rafaella Rabinovich always knew that she wanted to be a theatrical designer, and she became one \u2013 and a successful one at that, without many detours or hiccups. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[3299,3301,3300],"class_list":["post-10963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-fiddler-on-the-roof","tag-gallery-7-theatre","tag-rafaella-rabinovich"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}