By Heather Wirick, Staff Writer
Juls Buehrer (Photo Eric Lippe/The Gettysburgian)
The productions put on by the Gettysburg Theater Department bring a whirlwind of spectacle to audiences each year, and Juls Buehrer is a major contributor to this process. Serving as a painter for the department since 2010 and a costume designer since 2014, Buehrer brings a new, curated feel to each production, which is brought forth by her artistic training, inspirations and collaboration.
Buehrer lived around the country growing up, but art was a constant in her life.
“I always loved art class,” Buehrer said. “With art I felt free from judgment in the assignments. It was and still is very empowering and energizing to see what I can make with my own hands.”
Buehrer graduated from Penn State with a degree in theater production and fine art painting. There, she began to learn about different fabrics through her job at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft.
Buehrer originally came to Gettysburg with her husband on his doctorate career track: “At the time I had kind of given up on theater as a viable career for someone who didn’t like big cities. But then I met Professor Christopher Kauffman and he invited me to come paint scenery for the theater department on a casual basis.”
Following this meeting, Buehrer assumed the position of costume shop manager before becoming a costume designer. Despite the initial uncertainty when coming to Gettysburg, she reflected, “I really have the dream job and couldn’t ask for more.”
In creating the artistic visuals for the play, Buehrer said her process is largely collaborative, as she has to translate the scenic designers’ vision onto the larger stage. The costuming process demands a bit more from her own imagination. She starts with a deep study of the play, taking note of any period detail or note of characterization.
Juls Buehrer (Photo Eric Lippe/The Gettysburgian)
She elaborated, “I create a general costume plot for the show. Then I start drawing. I still do all my designs by hand; pencil and paint are comfortable old friends to me. I try to add a bit of the character’s personality and movement to my drawings.”
This process involves a lot of collaboration with the director and her students. Buehrer noted, “I try to give the shop workers and even sometimes the actors a say in the costuming process and listen to their ideas about better ways to construct things or how they think their character would feel about my costuming choices.”
Buehrer’s work can be seen in collaboration with other groups on campus, such as her mural for Martin Luther King with the Center for Public Service. In her spare time, she works on her personal art, including the Absalon Trio, a series of epic fantasy books that she has been working on since 2013.
Buehrer has honed her years of talent and influence on the Gettysburg College stage. By taking a look at any of the College’s recent productions, the audience can see how her work stitches together the fantastic spectacle of the College’s theater department.
This article originally appeared on page 15 of the December 2023 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
