University of Montana Presents HAIR Fever, 11/12

From the beginning of the design process for UM Theatre & Dance's December 2010 production of the Noël Coward classic Hay Fever, director John Deboer and costume designer Rebecca Coleman have discussed women's hairstyles. The play takes place in 1925 England, and the coiffure fashion of the day was short. Very short.

Coleman, an MFA costume-design candidate, saw the opportunity to turn a simple design choice into a School of Theatre & Dance-wide campaign: since the female cast members of Hay Fever must cut their hair, why not have them donate it to a charity ... and encourage not just the actors, but anyone willing to participate in solidarity, to donate as well? After doing research on various groups that accept hair donations, Coleman chose hair-care-product giant Pantene. Their donation program is called "Beautiful Lengths;" the collections contribute to free wigs for women who have lost their hair during their battles with cancer. 

The "HAIR Fever" donation event is planned for November 12 in order to additionally take advantage of the opportunity for cast members from HAIR (which runs October 19-23 and 26-30) to celebrate their show's closing by donating hair as well. The actors in the musical have been growing their hair since being cast at the end of August.

For more information about this inspirational project, please contact Coleman via the School of Theatre & Dance Costume Shop at 406-243-5271 or email her at umtheatredance@umontana.edu. To learn more about Pantene's "Beautiful Lengths" program, visit www.pantene.com/en-US/beautiful-lengths-cause/Pages/default.aspx.

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