WHEN Beauty and the Beast hits the stage next month, costume designer Juliette van Emmerik will watch the show with mixed emotions.
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Mrs van Emmerik has long been involved in theatre, you could say it's in her blood.
Even before the Holland-born woman moved to Australia, she trod the boards and acted in a huge number of theatre productions.
After her move to Bathurst, she joined the Carillon Theatrical Society and her passion for the arts continued.
Until now, she has been on stage, in the spotlight filling acting roles.
But for Carillon's latest production, Beauty and the Beast, she volunteered to not only be assistant director, but also to design and make many of the cast's costumes.
"I wanted to be in a production team, up until now I've always been on stage," she said.
While she has previously made her own costumes in productions she acted in, including as a clown in Barnum, taking on the role as costume designer for many of the 100 cast members was a huge undertaking.
"In Holland where I'm from I was in theatre and did my own costumes," she said.
There was only one way to prepare for this huge new undertaking, according to Mrs van Emmerik.
"I watched the show and I Googled and watched the stage productions and went from there," she said.
While costumes for the show's main cast members were sourced from well-known Sydney theatre designer James Worner, there were still many costumes for Mrs van Emmerik to design and make.
"He does lots of costume designing ... we got the main costumes from him and the village chorus that has 40 dresses for women," she said.
When you see the show next month, make sure to keep a look our for characters dressed as candles, chandeliers, napkins, waiters, cups, schoolgirls and corkscrews. These are Mrs van Emmerik's creations.
Among the more challenging costumes she made were for numerous cast members to be dressed as candles.
"For the candles I wanted an old-fashioned looking candle," she said.
The new production is huge with a lot of co-ordination required for cast and costumes.
Mrs van Emmerik needed the costumes to stand up to required movements and actions during the show.
During the planning stage, Mrs van Emmerik said she and director Leonie Freeth worked closely together.
"At auditions we'd already started talking about it and designing it and what was going to happen," she said.
Since those auditions last December, Mrs van Emmerik said she has "taken over the lounge room" in the home she shares with her husband Gregor van Emmerik.
She said Gregor's support had been amazing during four hectic months of costume-making with sequins, glue guns, papier-m ch and working out how to make the "light" of the candle costume glow.
"The other day he said to me 'I think you should change career, you're doing a really good job'," she said.
Mrs van Emmerik said she had a new-found appreciation for the production people who worked on the many shows she has taken part in over the years.
"I've got so much more respect for people behind the scenes," she said.
She has also received help with costume-making from Kelly Dunbar, cast members' mothers and the chorus during a working bee.
"You have to work together with your team," she said.
Mrs van Emmerik said cast members would also give a nod to Carillon Theatrical Society stalwart Cynthia McNeil, who passed away earlier this month.
Mrs McNeil was a driving force behind the construction of the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre and a mainstay of the Carillon Theatrical Society.
In the lead-up to the show's opening night on May 1, Mrs van Emmerik admits to being nervous, but also excited.
"I'm nervous but excited as well, but that's it for the production team. It's a mixed feeling of emotions," she said.
"It's been a good process, I've really enjoyed it."
n Beauty and the Beast opens at BMEC on Thursday, May 1. Tickets are now on sale for all shows.