Spotlight Sunday - Damian Dominguez

Hello and Happy Sunday!

For our second Spotlight Sunday, we are happy to feature Please welcome Costume Designer, Damian Dominguez! Look at our interview below to learn more about this artist.

Hartford Opera Theater - Hi Damian! We are so happy to feature you this Sunday. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Damian - I was born and raised in Dalton, a small industrial town in northwest Georgia. Music and theatre were a major part of my life growing up, but costume design was not introduced to me until college. I attended and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2012, receiving both a BA in Music and a BA in Theatre.

Hartford Opera Theater - What prompted the shift into Costume Design?

Damian - Though I wanted to pursue a career in costume design, I actually worked as a middle school band director for the first year after graduation. Though I loved music, I struggled to find happiness in the band classroom because I missed theatre too much. After my stint in music education, I then worked as a client service specialist at the corporate level of a disability insurance company in Chattanooga, TN. Though I wasn’t working primarily as a costume designer, I continued to look for opportunities to feed my passion for theatre. In the spring of 2014, I was offered the costumes apprenticeship with Hartford Stage, and that fall, I left my home, my family, and my friends to move to Hartford and pursue my dream career. Hartford Stage has opened so many doors for me, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities I’ve received. As a freelance technician, I’ve had the opportunity to work on many incredible projects, including Anastasia, Fiddler on the Roof, and Hamilton. As a designer, I’ve worked extensively with the Hartford Stage Education department, and designed for the University of Hartford's Hartt School and Hartford Opera Theater.

Hartford Opera Theater - We are so happy to have you back with us after your thrilling designs for last spring's production of The Crucible. After you work with us during our production of The Tender Land this spring, what's next for you?

Damian - My journey in costume design is just beginning, and I am thrilled to see what the future holds. Currently, graduate school is my focus and the next step in my career. While in the process of applying, I’ve maintained my upcoming projects to a minimum. However, I am thrilled to be working on the upcoming Hartford Opera Theater production of The Tender Land. Kristy Chambrelli has been a spectacular director, and I am excited to work with her yet again. Working with the Hartford Opera Theatre has been an incredible experience, and I am honored to design for this incredible company.

Hartford Opera Theater - We are lucky to have you! One last question, our theme this season is "Opera Without Borders." What does this theme mean to you?

Damian - Music is a universal language. Though written in specific languages, opera has the ability to transcend language barriers through the use of emotion and interpretation, and thus, surpass any borders. Aside from its transcendence of language barriers, opera also has the ability to create a world within a world. As audience members, we are allowed to peek into the worlds afar. Like all art forms, opera has the ability to recreate places, time periods, and worlds that may no longer exist or have never existed, and we are transported over any border, whether physical or metaphorical, and placed in a brand new world that might’ve seemed unreachable. This experience is truly magical, and proof that opera has no borders.