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Vanecek-Young preparing the pattern for a costume. |
Vicki Vaneck-Young,
UO Costume Shop Manager
By Brigitta Hawes
Vicki Vanecek-Young reigns supreme over organized chaos. To watch her is entertainment in itself. Her desk is a 7-foot wide, 4-foot high wooden cutting table. She seems forever bent over its massiveness as she creates patterns for an upcoming production. The cloth tape measure draped about her neck is her constant companion.
With at least two GTFs, six or more work-study students and a TA212 design course to supervise every term, Vaneck-Young is a busy manager. She appears unruffled as one student after another seeks an answer to an endless array of questions. "Should I incorporate a dart?" "Which material do you want me to use?" "How will these pieces fit together?"
She staunchly encourages her students to recognize their strengths, even if it means yelling it from across the costume design's workroom.
Her temperament is composed and reassuring to those who depend on her for direction.
Vanecek-Young knew early in life that her focus would be costume design. As a child of 9, she developed a love of design that would build through the years. "My grandmother taught me how to sew," she said. "We would work on a variety of craft projects together. I'd sew clothing for my dolls and stuffed animals, make Styrofoam ball angels for the Christmas tree, and eventually, I learned how to make the dolls themselves."
In 1998 as costume shop manager for the University of Wisconsin, Vanecek-Young realized how much she missed the Northwest. When an opening presented itself at the University of Oregon's Theatre Department for a costume shop manager, she applied. In late August 1999, Bonds offered the position to Vanecek, and they have been working together ever since.
Vanecek-Young appreciates her boss' work ethic, one she says doesn't shift all the responsibilty for a performance's costume design production onto her alone. "Sandy is very involved in the entire process," she said. Although responsibilities are clearly divided, with Bonds' focus on teaching and design versus Vanecek's focus on organization and production, Bonds agrees: "We both share a goal in common, a quality standard and a similar work ethic."
The process of designing and sewing costumes may seem glamorous; however, when creativity, artistry, and looming deadlines co-exist, the tension can be intense. According to Bonds, Vanecek-Young "makes every effort to manage the process so it doesn't get out of control."

Vanecek-Young working with a simulated-computer design.
Bonds also says she appreciates the strength and skills Vanecek-Young has brought to the costume department, saying that among them she values her organizational skill and her ability to pattern both men and women's clothing. "Often in her position cutters specialize in one or the other," Bonds said. "When you only have one person, you need someone that can do it all."
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