that girl allison

Today I found out via Facebook that one of my favorite professors, a mentor, and good friend lost her battle with cancer. Her name was Anne Lommel, and that’s her above in the fall of 2007 during our production of Ragtime. She was off to a ‘wig party’ after the performance began that night.

I transferred to Pace at the beginning of my sophomore year and fell in love with wardrobe management during that first semester. I worked on the wardrobe crew once during that first semester, and wardrobe supervised the three productions the semester after, a Fringe production she designed for in 2006, and all of the big productions during my junior and senior years of college. She encouraged me to join the wardrobe union (although I never did, and kind of regret that). We talked for hours in the costume shop on Park Row about everything.  

It was obvious during my first semester in her Costume 101 class that I couldn’t sew, but I could sure as hell facilitate quick changes and manage the shit out of people.  I’d always show up for the first production meeting for whichever show I was working on and she’d immediately give me the scoop on who my crew was going to be and who was great and who, you know, needed work. And she’d always introduce me to my crew, point to me, and tell them, “Do not ask her to sew anything - she can’t, and that’s YOUR job. Just do whatever she tells you.”

She was smart, talented, beautiful, snarky, down-to-earth, and all-around fantastic. The last time I saw her was on October 22nd (thank you, foursquare). I swung by the costume shop where it was pre-call time for the matinee of the musical they were doing, Floyd Collins. We caught up and she introduced me to the new crew of dressers and supervisors when they arrived. Shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer.  I have no idea what my alma matter is going to do now that she’s gone. She’s irreplaceable but I guess they have to try. 

The afterlife just got a really awesome new interior designer. Love you, Anne. 

Anne and me on that same night.