A needle and thread can go a long way. For Kasey Allee-Foreman, those items help produce intricate costumes that transform a performance into something believable for the audience.

Allee-Forman, production manager and costume designer for OU’s University Theatre, designed the costumes that will be seen in the production “Dracula,” opening today in the Rupel J. Jones Theatre.

“I think that ‘Dracula’ has such a rich history, from the Bram Stoker’s book to different plays to different movies. I tried to really be true to the original book but make it accessible to a modern audience,” said Allee-Foreman, commenting on that costumes she designed.

Allee-Foreman has been a costume designer for theatre and movies in the past, but she particularly loves to focus her time to the stage.

“I do particularly love theatre because of the great literature you get to work with, there’s so much meat to the work to inspire you and come up with your design,” says Allee-Foreman.

The costumes in this production of “Dracula” are pieces of artwork.

With so many elements the outfits, including the fangs that are molded to the actors’ teeth, the different eye contacts and the dramatic makeup many of the characters apply, Allee-Foreman had to think of every detail to create the illusion of this tale.

“We usually try to have four to six weeks of design time which is when the designers talk with director and finalizing things before we ever start building anything,” Allee-Foreman said. “We have school of drama students in all the areas and we kept some students on staff during the summer to help build the show.”

Allee-Foreman said the production certainly has it’s own delights and uniqueness but this is true of every production.

With the use of fake blood Allee-Forman had to create and try around five different blood solutions to get the correct color and consistency.

The final product was a mixture of a laundry detergent base and cake mix food coloring. She said it was also challenging to hide the blood in the costume and make it bleed onto the fabric during the right cue.

“The most challenging part of costume design is making the connection to the audience and creating the visual image that the audience can believe and supports what the actor is doing,” Allee-Forman said.

Allee-Foreman said the task of composing the faces of each character with makeup is left up to each actor. The students are responsible every night for putting on the finishing touches that make each character come alive.

“For the most part the actors do their own makeup. We have a wardrobe crew which helps with getting costumes ready and actors getting into them, but for the most part we expect our actors to do their own makeup,” she said.

Laurel Sein, acting junior, also helped create the costumes. This was her first time working in costume design.

“Just seeing the progression of the design and seeing them on stage. The whole process honestly was really incredible,” Sein said.

Sein is also playing the role of Mina Grant in “Dracula.”

“I do want to do acting but I would like to get a foot in everything,” Sein said. “It just opens up my options.”