I am the liaison between the designer and the costume shop, the stage manager and assistant directors. The designer does the sketches, and we sit down and pick out all the fabrics and the trims. We discuss with the drapers how things will be built, as well as details regarding the finer points of construction. I make sure everything looks how the designer wants it when it comes out of the shop and put onto the stage. I am also in charge of the paperwork, as far as purchasing for the particular show and the wardrobe running lists. I make sure that the wigs are the right ones and that the shoes are painted the right color.

They are taken from historical photographs. As Dunya says, we're not trying to recreate history because it's already here, so we just have to put it into a color palette that works. For instance, the military is one sort of color group – khakis, greens, golden yellows – so they live in a world by themselves color-wise. And then the Native Americans, who were there working as nannies and maintenance men, are in pure blues and earth colors to contrast them and to show their innocence and lack of involvement in the chemicals and testing.

There are about 115 costumes. Most everyone has one costume. The principals of course have two, sometimes three costume changes. There are no quick changes. The chorus, because they have one costume throughout the show, may roll up their sleeves at one point or take off a hat, but nothing major. Because of the timeframe the opera takes place in, which is one day – morning, evening, night and then the next day – there's not a whole lot of room for changing except for the principals.

The military is a large portion of the show, so they are all set in one color group – an acidic color that reflects their lives of deadlines and rules. It's all very chemical and dry for them. For the scientists, they’re a little less formal. They are in teals and purples with casual straw hats and Oxfords with their sleeves rolled up. The ladies are in the background. The military ladies are in the same color palette, and they are in standard women’s army core – some are in skirts and some are in pants. The scientists' wives are along the same lines as the men in the color – lavender and green. They did more things like office work, secretarial work, typing and transcribing.