Paul Tazewell
Encyclopedia
Paul Tazewell is a costume designer
for the theatre, dance, and opera. He has received three Tony Award
nominations for costume design, the Helen Hayes Awards Resident Design
for Outstanding Costume Design in 1993, two Lucille Lortel Award nominations, and the Theater Development Fund's Irene Sharaff Award in 1997.
, Ohio, Tazewell graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts
and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts
. Tazewell is resident artist and associate professor of Costume Design at Carnegie Mellon University
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
Tazewell has designed costumes for over a dozen Broadway
productions, starting with Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk in 1996 (receiving the Tony Award nomination) and, in 2009, the musicals Guys and Dolls (Revival) and Memphis
. His off-Broadway work as a costume designer includes Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2001) and Boston Marriage (2002), both at the Public Theatre.
In regional theatre he has designed costumes for, among many, Arena Stage
(The Women, 1999, and Polk County, 2002), The Guthrie Theatre, The Goodman Theatre
, and La Jolla Playhouse
. His work for ballet companies includes the Boston Ballet
, and for opera includes the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
Costume Designer
A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...
for the theatre, dance, and opera. He has received three Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations for costume design, the Helen Hayes Awards Resident Design
Helen Hayes Awards Resident Design
These Helen Hayes Awards are given annually for excellence in production design for professional theatres in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. These awards are given only for resident productions.-Outstanding Choreography in a Resident Production:...
for Outstanding Costume Design in 1993, two Lucille Lortel Award nominations, and the Theater Development Fund's Irene Sharaff Award in 1997.
Biography
Born in AkronAkron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Ohio, Tazewell graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
. Tazewell is resident artist and associate professor of Costume Design at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
Tazewell has designed costumes for over a dozen Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions, starting with Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk in 1996 (receiving the Tony Award nomination) and, in 2009, the musicals Guys and Dolls (Revival) and Memphis
Memphis (Musical)
Memphis is a musical by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro . It is loosely based on Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s...
. His off-Broadway work as a costume designer includes Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2001) and Boston Marriage (2002), both at the Public Theatre.
In regional theatre he has designed costumes for, among many, Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
(The Women, 1999, and Polk County, 2002), The Guthrie Theatre, The Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
, and La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
. His work for ballet companies includes the Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...
, and for opera includes the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
Selected work
- In the HeightsIn the HeightsIn the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights....
(2008) (Tony Award nominee) - The Color PurpleThe Color Purple (musical)The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It features music and lyrics written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman. It ran on Broadway in 2005 and has been touring throughout the US...
(2005) (Tony Award nominee) - A Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes...
(2004) - Caroline, or ChangeCaroline, or ChangeCaroline, or Change is a through-composed musical with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori that combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music....
(2003) Lucille Lortel Award nomination, Outstanding Costume Design - Boston Marriage (2002) Lucille Lortel Award nomination, Outstanding Costume Design