Costumed characters

 Annalise Diadema watched in the mirror as half her face dissolved into skeletal bones under the masterful brush strokes and prosthetic creativity of designer Noai Sakuma, while Lukas Wassman turned classmate Sami Focarino into a grim-faced witch complete with warts.

Several beginning Cal State Long Beach Theater Arts students volunteered to take part in a Halloween photo shoot this week in an effort to learn more about their craft from designers and have a bit of spooky fun in the process.

“I’ve always liked the mystery of what goes on behind the scenes. How does the magic happen?” designer student Daisy Montalvo said.

Fellow designer Paula Le, who helped Montalvo turn Bea Bruecker into a creepy school girl, enjoys the creativity of being a technical theater major. She has worked on several play productions for the school.

“I’ve always liked the transformation process of changing someone into something completely different,” Le said.

 

Le and Montalvo had the added job of putting a knife through the neck of Bruecker. Fellow student Jared Crisostomo had it easy – he simply wore a swamp thing costume.

Turning an ordinary college student into a spectacular goblin or a large cast into a group of impoverished struggling artists for a production of “Rent” is the responsibility of Gayle Baizer, professional designer and part-time instructor. She not only teaches the basics of stage makeup, but guides young hands in the finer points of foundation and eyeshadow.

Baizer has done makeup and designed costumes for several Broadway and television shows, plus commercials and advertisements. She has worked at CSULB for the pasts 13 years.