Spotlight on Genesis Theatrical Productions' Rafaela Valderamma

For Rafaela Valderamma, costume designing has usually included period suits and fake glasses for Genesis Theatrical Productions or even feather boas and burlesque outfits for Kiss Kiss Cabaret. But nothing in the past has ever prepared her for her current assignment for Genesis' production of "Muse of Fire."

The play, set in the concentration camp of Auschwitz involves 8 male prisoners who are forced to rehearse a play. Rafaela's job is to create the prison uniforms for the actors from scratch.

"You can't go into a costume shop and rent something like this," she remarked. "They have to be built from the ground up."

Not only do the costumes have to be historically accurate as to design and include the yellow star that Jewish inmates were forced to wear, they also have to look ill-fitting and badly maintained.

"If we are going to be committed to making these as accurate as possible, we should make them look as dirty and neglected as possible," she added.

"Muse of Fire" is playwright Jake Rosenberg's radically new way of looking at Holocaust remembrance and art. It combines humor and horror in a way few works have done.

"This is one of the most unusual costume assignments I have ever had," Rafaella commented, "but it's what makes my work so interesting."

Muse of Fire Runs: February 13 to March 13, 2016 at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr

Performance times: Saturdays 3pm, & Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Sundays 7:30pm Tickets are $20

To reserve online: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2327423

To reserve by phone: 1-800-838-3006, ext. 1