KARA WAALA
Design
In the Press
Feb 3, 2016
Constellation Theatre Company’s Avenue Q, a sold-out phenomenon over the summer, is now an award-nominated phenomenon, too. The gay-friendly puppet musical snagged 14 nods, more than any other show in the 2016 Helen Hayes Awards slate, announced Monday, Feb. 1...
Feb 1, 2016
Outstanding Costume Design-HELEN Production
Kara Waala, “Avenue Q,” Constellation Theatre Company
Nov 16, 2015
"Costume Designer Kara Waala brings the 1940’s to life with era-appropriate dresses and hairstyles, accessorizing the upper-crust characters with dainty white gloves and luxurious fur shawls."
Oct 29, 2015
Judging by Constellation Theatre Company’s delightful and very funny production, “Avenue Q” still teems with oddball slackers, buoyantly off-color behavior, and spots sufficiently untouched by urban renewal as to allow for hilariously impolitic songs like “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.” Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman, with assistant direction and puppet coaching by Matthew Aldwin McGee, “Avenue Q” is still, in short, a must-visit destination
The Olsen twins are here to save the day! - The Washington Post
June 8, 2015
"Stalking about in a bright orange cocktail dress, patterned stockings and boa, Tisdale is very funny as Ashley, who is depicted as the more cartoonishly shallow and self-absorbed of the Olsen twins. Wearing a more down-to-earth top-and-trousers outfit, Stanley fleshes Mary-Kate out into a more naturalistic character. (Kara Waala designed the costumes.)"
November 12, 2014
"Lydia Francis’s set — a sterile tiled chamber, onto which Ian McClain’s electronic images and captions are projected — provides Chong and Wilks with a versatile platform. Kara Waala’s costumes — color-blocked in shades of gray — add to the illusion of a reenactment by another world. Overall, it’s as cool a history lecture as a college kid can ever expect."
UMD Design Exhibit featured on livedesignonline.com
May 8, 2014
The University of Maryland is hosting its MFA Design Exhibition, which honors a three-year program that majors in scenic, costume, and lighting design; taught by Brian MacDevitt, Dan Wagner, Dan Conway, Helen Huang, Misha Kachman, and Jared Mezzocchi.
Organic and collaborative: UMD presents Spring Awakening
March 25, 2014
"the “Elementals.” Dressed in neutral-colored, flowing, loose dresses and tunics, their hair swept up into disheveled hairstyles, the Elementals were more than conventional backup dancers; they told the undercurrents of the story."
'Spring Awakening' 5 star Review: dcmetrotheatrearts.com
March 1, 2014
"Myth and metaphor collide in the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies’ production of Spring Awakening. Three directors create layer upon layer of design, dance, and song for this unique piece. Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt co-directs with Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig."
"The elementals are decked out by Costume Designer Kara Waala in ghostly muslin that echo the traditional costumes of the main actors of the piece"
Theatre Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ at University of Maryland
March 2, 2014
" Most notable was the directors’ incorporation of a group deemed the “Elementals.” A troupe of raggedly dressed and sullen-faced modern dancers, the Elementals were present on stage during several musical numbers as a representation of the raw and rampant undertones occurring internally in our everyday life."
Behind the Masks: Interview with Mask Designer Kara Waala
November 22, 2013
Kara Waala, an MFA Design student crafted all of the masks worn by the performers in the play. Kara talks to me about the history of Commedia dell’arte and also shares a bit about the work that goes into bringing such beautiful, communicative masks to life.
'Molière Impromptu' at UMD Review: dcmetrotheatrearts.com
November 12, 2013
"The University of Maryland School of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies invokes a mastery of comedy in their new production of Molière Impromptu."
"For the play within a play, the costumes grow even more outlandish, including traditional masks by Kara Waala."
Moliére makes his way to Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
November 04, 2013
“The masks would represent different stock characters,” said Kara Waala, a mask and makeup designer for the show. Waala is working on her masters degree in costume design at the university. “[The masks] allow the actors to say things they normally couldn’t have said ... [They] kind of let the actors be free ... lowbrow people have the chance to poke fun at the highbrow comedy.”