Emerson Stage
Directed by Summer Williams
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco
Assistant Costume Designer Nina Turovskiy
Scenic Design by Ariana Dookhran
Lighting Design by Hannah Forsberg
Sound Design by Aubrey Dube
Props Lead Amaya Gonzalez-Mollmann

Photos by Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo.

Set in the suburbs of Chicago in 1988, Hank, Julian and Luann are three teenagers finding their voice through & at the beginning of Hip Hop culture amidst a backdrop of adolescent rivalries, dysfunctional family dynamics, and cultural disconnect.

Directed by Jacqui Parker 
Lyric Stage Company 
Costume design by Jez Insalaco 
Wardrobe Supervisor Hannah Schuurman
Scenic Design by Baron E. Pugh 
Lighting Design by Elmer Martinez 
Sound Design by Owen Meadows 
Props Artisan - Lauren Corcuera

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One evening, one conversation between this deeply in love, newly-engaged couple. While sometimes navigated though humor, nostalgia and joy, the power of their love & commitment to each other is tested when themes of black male privilege, emotional labor and sexual assault come up in the discussion.

Beyond the verbal conversation, other important messages were being communicated through aesthetics. Black Excellence. Pride in heritage. The unexpected but truthful portrayal of the Black power couple. Elevated & articulate & proud.

Signature costume pieces were all shopped from black-owned businesses.

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Photography by Mark S. Howard

A new musical created by Elizabeth Addison
Directed by Elizabeth Addison and Meghann Perry
Northeastern University
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco
Hair & Make up Design by Jez Insalaco
Lighting Design by Abigail Wang
Scenic Design by Baron Pugh
Sound Design by Anna Drummond

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A new musical about the experience of primarily Black & Brown women at substance abuse treatment facilities. It is a story of hope, struggle, recovery, and what it means to continue to find your own way.

While the musical takes place in 2010, the women here have come into society at various points between the 1980s and 2010s. Sheri has held on to the bright colors and cheetah prints indicative of the 80s that she wore on the corner, while Cece rocks her 90s hip-hop baggy attire as armor. Grace, our protagonist, is trying to blend in and simultaneously be seen in her corduroy overshirts, hoodies, tanks, and flare jeans—a quintessential mid-2000s silhouette.

The colors palette of the costumes reflect the microcosm of each woman’s world, and may very well be discordant when shown in relief against each other. But in the end, each woman continues to find their way and this is celebrated by bolder colors, a certain softness & vivacity attained from their journeys.

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Photography by Lauren Scornavacca

Boston Productions Inc.
Interactive Museum Exhibit using Film & Projections
Webster, MA
Directed by Bob Noll
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco
Hair & Make Up by Joe Rossi

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This project focused on the contributions and legacy of Samuel Slater, the Father of the American Industrial Revolution. As an interactive museum exhibit, it was crucial to portray pivotal moments in his legacy through accurate historical period research for each costume.

A series of vignettes & interviews were shot on green screen to create an interactive and immersive experience in the actual exhibit, as well as period sets.

The vignettes take place in 1789, 1830, 1910, and show pivotal moments in Samuel Slater’s life, his mill worker’s lives, as well the legacy his family left. The four interviews are set in 1870, 1880, 1887, 1905, and show the Slater Mills’ effect on a variety of lives, in both positive & negative ways.

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Photography by Jez Insalaco & Boston Productions Inc

Boston Productions Inc
Interactive Museum Installation using Film & Video
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco
Hair & Make-up Design by Joe Rossi

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This interactive museum exhibit was about the evidence and cultural moments surrounding the JFK assassination. Period fashion research as well as photographic footage of the event were the main sources of design inspiration, because intent was to emulate the experience of this exact moment in time for the audience as this moment in history has been so thoroughly documented.

One historical aspect that couldn't be replicated due to the video effect being used were the Dallas Texas police uniforms. To accommodate the Pepper's Ghost video effect being used here, uniforms in a similar style in light grey color were used to avoid floating heads against a dark background.

The reporters hall of the police station was chaotic, packed with reporters. The historically accurate police uniforms were used here as well as a portrayal of the iconic man with the rifle.

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Photography by Boston Productions Inc

Boston Children’s Theatre
Directed by Burgess Clark
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco
Scenic Design by Janie Howland

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Stark whites and watery neutrals are the dominant palette of Nurse Ratched’s psychiatric ward. That is, until Randle Patrick McMurphy flies in from a prison farm and disrupts everything with his fiery spirit.

As he gets closer to the other patients, they get braver in speaking their minds. This shows through the warmer palette of clothing they are now drawn to. McMurphy introduces more light  and warmth to this dreary world, ensuing in the climax of the play, when he throws a wild secret party, complete with party girls in 60s period dress, booze and repressed desires realized.

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Photography taken by Maggie Hall

Emerson Stage
Choreographed by Nelly Calhoun, Mark Wolf Roberts, Michael Chancellor
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco

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The first piece focused on four friends deeply connected to each other. His dance featured long leaps, spinning, and grounded and extending motions that were enhanced by the flowy and translucent quality of all the costumes. Each color was specifically chosen and dyed to match each character’s personality.

First love and loss was the central theme of Q & A (second piece). The choreography was bright, poppy, and had quick tumbles and jumps, but also slower ballads and organic movement. To match this feeling, soft pastel colors were picked, along geometric silhouettes, and a mod 60s look.

The theme of Frontier (third piece) was outer space and our own journey within ourselves. Galaxy print and sequined fabric represented stars, and black chiffon layered over created the imagery of a night sky. Each dancer represented a different quality in ourselves so the costume needed to reflect that difference as well.

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Photography by Anneliese Danielle Du Boulay and Emerson College

Boston Children’s Theatre
Directed By Burgess Clark
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco
**Elliot Norton Winner for Outstanding Production

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Anne Frank tells the story of two families trying to hide out from Nazi occupation in Amsterdam during the years 1942-1944. These families were only able to afford a hideout because they were relatively wealthy, as reflected in the jewelry, coats and subtle finery in garments and other accessories. But as tension rises in Act II after being in hiding for so long, morale, as well as desire to dress, dwindles. Mrs. Van Damm for example, enters Act 1 in her fur coat and fascinator, but by Act 2 is down to a brown drab skirt and ratty gray cardigan.

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Photography by Leighanne Evelyn

O Beautiful
Emerson Stage
Directed by Benny Sato Ambush
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco

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Commentary on what it means to live in America is the overarching theme of this play. O Beautiful is about what it’s means when “We the People” are no longer united. A red, white, blue, and gray color palette helped emphasize this idea through costumes, but it also unified the look of the many large 27-character crowd scenes in the show. Green was used to represent outcasts: the stronger the shade, the more outcast the character. Each family and  peer group needed to have a sense a unity or discord through their costumes, either through the color palette or style.

On the protagonist’s journey to the afterlife we meet three celestial characters: A fiery Joan of Arc, a literally headless Saint Denis, and a grumpy St. Paul.

Moments of debate and the conflicts of day-to-day life are intercut against the backdrop of conversations with the American “Founding Fathers” on a right-wing conservative talk show.  Depending on how propagandizing their character was, the costumes ranged from more to less extravagant while staying recognizably colonial. In an effort to contextualize certain statements made by these fathers in today’s America, the “Founding Fathers” were cast as a range of diverse women.

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Photography by Marisa Jack

Fancy Nancy
Boston Children’s Theatre
Directed by Toby Schine
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco

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This over the top children’s musical is all the fancy a kid could want! Fancy Nancy struggles with mundane conventions (which is fancy for “normal things”!) as well as wanting to be the shining star during any opportunity. To illustrate this through costume, her friends and classmates stuck to blues, greens, browns, while rich fuchsia, magenta, fluffy, and sparkly were completely Fancy Nancy’s domain!

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Photography by George Lucozzi, ASA Photographic

A.R.T. Institute
Directed by Alla Sigalova
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco

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In this timeless opera, Carmen wears a luscious black velvet dress and her ensemble cast follows suit in various cuts of modern and retro dresses, suit styles ranging from slim to boxy, creating both stark drama and placing this production of Carmen both in the here and now and also in a Romantic context.

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Photography by Evgenia Eliseeva

Stoneham Theatre Company
Directed by Ilyse Robbins
Costume Design By Jez Insalaco

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I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti follows Giulia Melucci and her trials and tribulations through love and loss, all in the comfort of her own kitchen. She cooks a delicious homemade spaghetti to let off her steam in a quintessentially Italian way.

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Photography by Nile Scott

Oberon Presents
Directed by James Blaszko
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco

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Cyclops: A Satyr Play takes places in a seedy underground club celebrating the Festival of Dionysus from Greek myths and presents the story of Odysseus and his crew marooned on the Island of the Cyclops.

In this interactive, audience-driven performance, amidst the glitter on the dance floor, you might run into ritual festival Dancers, phallic Satyrs, a one-eyed rock n’ roll Cyclops and even Odysseus, your average bar-hopping frat bro—complete with his salmon pink shorts and his crew of two lovely ladies.

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Photography by Charlotte Morril and Marisa Jack

ToUch Performance Art
Creative Direction by Marissa  Roberts & Elizabeth McGuire
Costume Design for Dance of the Knights 2.0 by Jez Insalaco

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AcousticaElectronica is an audience interactive, full sensory experience. The Dance of the Knights is one such segment of the show where light, sound and movement are used to its fullest capacity. Seven black jumpsuits were retrofitted with orange and blue electroluminescent wire to create abstract human forms. These forms were able to strobe on cue at the control of the performer.

See the the jumpsuits in perform in realtime in the video below!

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Photography & Video by ToUCh Performance Art

Paradise Lost
Choreographed by Cassie Samuels
Costume Design by Jez Insalaco

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This piece was all about missing moments of connection in day-to-day life, and how magical it is to find a person to share a moment of connection with, as well as the weight of past baggage. Flowy garments paired with more structural contemporary wear and an earthy color palette kept this piece grounded while adding grace to the extending, dynamic and organic movement of the piece.

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Photography by Rbelleau Photography

Paradise Lost
Choreographed by Tyler Catanella
Costume Design By Jez Insalaco

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This dance theatre piece is a journey to the literal gates of the afterlife, complete with check-in, visits with loved ones left behind, old souls unable to get the next stage, and coming to peace with oneself.

Blue was an important color in this piece, signifying souls in transition to the afterlife and also an accent color for the loved ones of those souls left behind. Dusty browns, worn ochres, and off-whites created the illusion of the color that had fallen from the clothing of old souls who have been stuck in the in-between for so long.

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Photography by RBelleau Photography