Sue Blane

Susan Margret Blane is best known for her costume designs for both The Rocky Horror Show and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Her designs are some of the most duplicated in the history of film.Fact|date=February 2008

Life and career

Blane studied costume design at Wolverhampton College of Art and Central School of Art and Design, finishing in 1971.

Before "Rocky" in 1972, Blane had already met Tim Curry in 1971 at the Citizen's Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, where they were both involved in a production of Jean Genet's "The Maids". Blane also designed the costumes for other "Rocky" productions, including the 1975 Broadway production and film. Blane also created the costume designs for "Shock Treatment" (1981). Since the "Rocky" film was released, fans have been recreating the designs as part of the cult audience participation. Also, any time any character in the film says the word "blame," audience members shout, "No, Sue's to Blane!"

Blane also created the costume designs for Jonathan Miller's "The Mikado" for the English National Opera. Other opera credits include David McVicar's "Carmen" for Glyndebourne, Keith Warner's "Lohengrin" for the Bayreuth Festival, "Lulu" at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, Disney's "Hunchback of Notre-Dame" (Berlin): "Love for Three Oranges" (Opera North/ENO); "Three Musketeers" (Young Vic); "Capriccio" (Staatsoper, Berlin); "Guys and Dolls" (RNT); "Into the Woods" (Old Vic / West End); "Porgy and Bess" (Glyndebourne) and "La Fanciula del West", with Placido Domingo (La Scala, Milan).

Sue's many production design credits include "The Relapse", voted Best Design by What's On readers, (RNT), "The Nutcracker" and "Alice in Wonderland" for the English National Ballet; "Midsummer Night's Dream" (Royal Dramaten Theatre, Stockholm and RSC; "Cabaret" (Donmar Warehouse); "Sylvia" (Birmingham Royal Ballet); "King John, The Learned Ladies", and "Antony and Cleopatra" all for the Royal Shakespeare Company; "Barber of Seville" (Scottish Opera); "The Duenna" and "Thieving Magpie" (Opera North); "Christmas Eve" (ENO) and "Lee Miller" (Minerva Chichester). Her designs also feature in a new ballet for English National Ballet based on Oscar Wilde's novella of "The Canterville Ghost" conceived and choreographed by Will Tuckett.

Honors

She was nominated for a 1997 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for her design of English National Ballet's "Alice in Wonderland" and a BAFTA nomination for Peter Greenaway's "The Draughtsman's Contract". Her current designs can be seen in "Dance of the Vampires" in Vienna, directed by Roman Polanski.

Blane received an MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire) in 2006. [http://www.rockynews.org/articles/2007/01/01/sue-blane-gets-mbe-from-queen-elizabeth]

References

* [http://www.timewarp.org.uk/lab/sueblane.htm Information about Blane's design credits]
* [http://www.rockynews.org/articles/2007/01/01/sue-blane-gets-mbe-from-queen-elizabeth Article about Blane and her receipt of an MBE]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0087436/bio Biography at IMDB site]
* [http://www.cosmosfactory.org/actor_sue_blane.shtml Profile of Blane]

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0087436/ Blane's film credits at the IMDB database]
* [http://www.rockymusic.org/showdoc/SueBlane-1979Interview.php Interview with Blane]
* [http://www.rockymusic.org/tags/Sue+Blane.php Photo of Blane]
* [http://www.rockyhorrorarchives.org/orlando2001/sueblane.htm Information about Blane]