一种新的生产方式

The hemming of pants, sewing of buttons and assembling of costumes. Three weeks ago, there was a palpable excitement and busyness among the stitchers in the bet365亚洲官网’s 戏剧艺术系 as they prepared for the season finale production. 现在, with all classes online and the final 2020 production cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, the scene in the costume shop is a little different.

但是，俗话说得好，好戏还在继续.

姜索伦森, a clinical assistant professor and costume director, oversees all aspects of the costume production for each U of I play. 正常情况下, students in her production lab class design and sew costumes for the theatrical productions. 但, 没有制片需要准备, the costume shop students turned from outfitting its actors to sewing for those currently in the spotlight – staff at Gritman Medical Center in 莫斯科.

“Someone sent me a link about people making masks at home in other states, so I called Gritman and talked to volunteer services to get more information,索伦森说. “This is something in my skillset that I can do to help.”

Others in the 莫斯科 community have donated supplies to Gritman, including local quilting groups and sewing enthusiasts.

“There has been such a great outpouring of care and empathy from our community, 包括戏剧系,Kim Malm说, 格里特曼志愿者服务协调员. “The masks being donated are used not only in the hospital, 在诊所里也有一线工作人员.”

Medical staff use N95 masks as protection from viruses like COVID-19. Cloth masks can be used by health care professionals to cover N95 masks, extending the useful life of these critical pieces of medical equipment.

“Gritman is incredibly grateful to organizations like the bet365亚洲官网 Theatre Department for its support of our staff and patients during this critical time,彼得·蒙特说, Gritman director of community relations and marketing. “It will take our whole community working together to defeat COVID-19, and this donation demonstrates that level of commitment.”

Using materials left over from other productions, Sorensen used the template provided by Gritman to sew samples of the masks. 她给了一个样本, 一袋材料, 在某些情况下, one of her extra personal sewing machines to students also interested in participating.

“We have a lot of supplies in the costume shop – some are left over from shows and some are donations,索伦森说. “For some reason, we have a lot of elastic in weird colors that we don’t use very often. This seems like a really good way to use up the 100-yard surplus of purple underwear elastic!”

Already, Sorensen and her students have made more than 100 masks.

Currently, seven students are participating in the project, including:

• Carson Saline, a Master of Fine 艺术 in theatre performance candidate from Snowflake, Arizona;
• Caroline Frias, a Master of Fine 艺术 in theatre costume design from Miami, Florida
• BreAnne Servoss Cook, a theatre arts major from Shelley;
• Anthony Jones, an apparel, textiles and design major from 莫斯科;
• Isabella Bermingham, a criminology and psychology major from Paso Robles, California;
• Victoria Zenner, a theatre arts major from Meridian; and
• Amy Huck, an operations management and accounting major from Caldwell.

“I'm making masks because I want to give back to the community that has been there for me for the past few years,Servoss Cook说. “在危机时刻, I find no better way to push back the anxiety and fear of the unknown than by doing something that can make a difference.”

To make masks for Gritman Medical Center, contact Malm at 金.malm@gritman.org 或208-883-5520，并访问 格里特曼专用的面具页面 用于设计规范和说明.

Article by Kathy Foss, 文学、艺术和社会科学学院
2020年3月发布