American Repertory Theater Collaborates With 7TILL8 Wetsuits

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, is collaborating with California-based 7TILL8 Wetsuits to manufacture select costumes for its upcoming production of Endlings.

Designed by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder), wetsuits by 7TILL8 will be worn by actors Wai Ching Ho, Emily Kuroda, and Jo Yang as they portray haenyeos-Korean sea women who dive for seafood-in the new play by Celine Song (Amazon's "The Wheel of Time") and directed by Sammi Cannold (Forbes Entertainment 30 Under 30 Class of 2019).

Song's script calls for the haenyeos to be seen both on land and under water. To execute her vision, Cannold and the production's scenic designer Jason Sherwood ("Rent: Live" on FOX) have conceived of an environment that features an onstage pool in which the actors will perform while wearing the wetsuits made by 7TILL8.

"My starting point for designing this show was to look at images of actual haenyeos," said Cho. "Endlings is my first underwater experience, and it's been really exciting to think about the materials, what's going to read under water, and the practicalities of construction. Sammi [Cannold, Director] went to Jeju Island in South Korea and was given some real used diving suits, so we had a great reference."

"It was imperative that we find a wetsuit maker who could meet our design, technical, and theatrical needs," said A.R.T. Costume Shop Manager Carson Eddy. "After days of searching the internet and even considering having the wetsuits made in Korea, we discovered 7TILL8. Grace and Andrew have been incredible partners in creating costumes that not only accurately reflect Linda's beautiful designs, but are also technically sound."

7TILL8 Wetsuits was founded in 2016 to build custom wetsuits for the surf and dive industry. The company is known for creating bespoke made-to-measure wetsuits. "As Asian-Americans and divers, it's an honor for us to partner with the A.R.T. on a project like Endlings," says Grace Hsiang, VP of 7TILL8. "We pride ourselves in creating the best wetsuits of the highest quality and are thrilled to be re-creating the actual haenyeo wetsuits from limestone neoprene for this production."

Endlings begins previews at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA on Tuesday, February 26; opens Friday, March 1; and closes Sunday, March 17, 2019.

On the Korean island of Man-Jae, three elderly haenyeos-sea women-spend their dying days diving into the ocean to harvest seafood. They have no heirs to their millennia-old way of life. Across the globe on the island of Manhattan, a Korean-Canadian playwright, twice an immigrant, spends her days wrestling with the expectation that she write "authentic" stories about her identity. But what, exactly, is her identity? And how can she write about it without selling her own skin? This daring new play by Celine Song (Amazon's "The Wheel of Time," Public Theater's 2016-2017 Emerging Writers Group) journeys beneath the waves under the direction of Sammi Cannold (Violet at A.R.T., Forbes 30 Under 30).

Tickets start at $25 and are available now online at americanrepertorytheater.org, by phone at 617.547.8300, and in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services Offices (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge). Discounts are available to Subscribers, Members, groups, students, seniors, Blue Star families, EBT card holders, and others.