Today we’d like to introduce you to Zhang Yu.
Hi Zhang, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Before starting to work in theater, I used to be a fashion designer. At that time, my designs had already won awards in national competitions multiple times. However, the turning point in my career occurred in 2007, marking the beginning of my journey with the world of theater. In that year, I entered the Shanghai Theatre Academy, one of China’s oldest and most esteemed drama schools. It was also the year I designed a very first stage production, and from that moment onward, I fell in love with this profession as a costume designer.
Looking back, I often feel that being a costume designer was destined in my life. I’ve had a passion for watching movies and stage performances since I was a child, and I’ve always enjoyed painting and various forms of imaginative visual art. These interests somehow led me down the path I’m on today. Costume design has ultimately brought together all my passions and talents perfectly.
In 2012, my design for the musical The Voyage of Jianzhen won the Annual Award of Best Costume of China Institute of Stage. This story tells the journey of Jianzhen, a master monk from the Tang Dynasty who overcame countless hardships and obstacles on his quest to spread Buddhism and culture in Japan. This recognition was a significant moment in my career as a costume designer, gradually opening doors to more high-profile and expansive artistic projects. By the time I moved to the United States in 2019, my journey had led me through various stage performance genres, including opera, musicals, drama, dance, and traditional Chinese opera, and my works have been presented on stages in various regions of the world, such as Italy, Hungary, and Taiwan.
In 2019, I joined the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University to pursue an MFA in Costume Design. This marked my inaugural step in transplanting my career to the United States. Shortly thereafter, my costume design for The Tempest earned the Region Two Theatrical Design Excellence Award for Costumes at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In 2022, I received the OPERA America Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize for my work on the opera Salome. That same year, I was also honored with the esteemed USITT Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award.
While these recognitions bring me joy, I believe that my firm commitment to what I’ve chosen for both career and life is the real driving force behind my journey to this point. With such dedication, even now, I find myself learning new things and encountering fresh faces each day. The world still continues to surprise me and provoke thought every day, while my ardor for theater and art remains the same as it was in my youth. It’s a powerful drive that pushes me to take adventures and fearlessly explore into the unknowns on stages and in life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I feel lucky because I love my job, and it seems that my natural talent for it isn’t shabby, either. Although there were challenges along the way, they haven’t felt too rough. I consistently find satisfaction and joy in my work, which also helps to balance out the pressures that come with it.
If there’s one thing that sometimes makes me to pause amid the fast pace of everyday work, it’s the contemplation of the experiences and habits forged throughout my professional journey. This introspection compels me to ponder how these very experiences and habits, in turn, shape the person I have become.
Once I realize I’ve fallen into some habitual pattern in my artistic creations, a desire to change that behavior awakens within me. A desire that is to shatter the ‘fixed’ self and then regenerate from the fragments. I’m not sure if this should be deemed a true struggle, yet undeniably, it does urge me to persistently break away from the boundaries of conventional thought and behavior.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would describe myself as both an artist and a designer as I always try to find the balance between artistic concepts and storytelling and infuse costume design with deeper dramatic significance. This way, my designs usually carry strong opinions.
In my view, costume design not only assists actors in portraying genuine and persuasive characters but also acts as an expressive and unique stage language that builds the relationships of characters and renders the theatrical ambiance within the scenes. Additionally, costume design has the ability to convey characters’ inner emotions, which can be difficult to express directly through words and physical performance.
In my recent design, The Chinese Lady, the actress’s costume gradually sheds in harmony with the evolving storyline and the character’s inner transformation. The costume’s patterns and colors slowly decay and fade as the narrative unfolds, offering a visual portrayal of the characters’ internal melancholy and desolation in a non-realistic fashion.
The fragments and cracks that fall from the costumes mirror the tears shed inside and the pain accumulated throughout her life, along with the irretrievable fading of the memories of her identity. The costume design creates a shift in the play’s visual style, moving from realism to a more expressive and surrealistic approach.
Costumes may not speak, but they convey a myriad of significance. It is my belief that a successful costume design enhances the story development from different perspectives. And any good theatrical designer should think like a director.
How do you think about happiness?
I remember how I connected with a heartwarming scene from Dave Malloy’s musical Preludes, where a musician finds joy in a little girl dancing to his music. As long as my work can brighten someone’s life with a touch of enjoyment, it kindles a spark within my own existence for that moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zhangyudesigns.com/
- Instagram: @zhangyudesigns
Image Credits
Zhang Yu’s Personal Photo by Louis Stein image 1: The Voyage of Jianzhen Costume Design image 2: The Tempest Costume Design image 3: Salome Costume Design image 4: The Chinese Lady Costume Design image 5: The Chinese Lady Costume Transformation image 5: The Flower Power Conceptual Fashion Art Design
