Going to town with her gowns

By Ashleigh Hill-Buxton
WHEN her then eight-year-old daughter began drama lessons at Adlib Young Performers, Donna Gilham wanted to be an involved and supportive mother.
This is how Donna started designing costumes for the academy’s performances.
A talented seamstress and mother of two, Donna designs and crafts between 30 and 100 costumes a year – depending on what is required – which range from intricate clothing for period dramas to a crocodile costume she designed to fit an adult male performer.
“I made the entire thing, from the enormous head and jaw, right down to the clawed feet and very detailed tail. It took weeks and weeks to complete, but by the audience’s reaction every time he walks on stage is so worth all that work,” she said.
One of the greatest challenges she experiences when designing and creating her pieces is to ensure they are both durable and easily adjustable for different sizes, as well as being suited to the performance itself.
“I tend to play it all by ear. I ask a lot of questions and take a lot of measurements,” she said.
With her talent and dedication, Donna’s skills are always in demand; although she primarily creates pieces for Adlib, she has also worked with amateur performance group 1812 Theatre.
She works privately as a dressmaker and does alterations as well.
“I don’t sleep much!” she said.
Despite her passion requiring extensive effort and posing many challenges, Donna is unwaveringly certain that her efforts are well-rewarded.
“I get a great deal of satisfaction when I see the kids with their costumes on and they have an enormous smile on their faces. All the kids know me and what I do and I get lots of appreciation from them,” she said.
“It makes me happy when I can walk into a big room full of kids and teenagers and they call me by name and run up and hug me!”