On May 22, thousands of guests were treated to Universal Orlando Resort’s first new theme park in 20 years when Epic Universe opened to the public. The park features five immersive and innovative themed lands — four based on Universal characters and films and one original concept.
At the preview event one month earlier, Cal State Fullerton alum Karen Weller ’81 (MFA, theatre arts) had the opportunity to see the costumes she and her team designed come to life in the new park environments.
In 2018, Weller and her business partner Bonnie Sinclair were invited to lead a creative team in designing an operational wardrobe — a set of compelling, wearable pieces designed to hold up to the rigors of daily theme park use — for the new Epic Universe project.
“There’s just something particularly exciting about creating something that establishes a new, novel entity, be it a new attraction, an unusual storyline or a distinctive environment. That feeling probably comes from my theatre background and training at Cal State Fullerton, where every production has a new perspective or new approach,” said Weller.
Her team oversaw the development of wardrobe for two of the parks’ five lands: “Celestial Park” — an original and lushly landscaped futuristic concept filled with interactive attractions and a water play area for children — and “How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk,” a fantastical land where humans and dragons peacefully coexist in a recreation of the animated franchise’s colorful and detailed Viking villages.
Weller’s skills were honed first at CSUF, then in live theatre and onsite at Disneyland, where she headed the costume production workshop throughout the 1990s. Her vast experience and invaluable theme park industry knowledge eventually led her to working with Universal’s global network of theme parks, including Universal Studios Japan and Singapore, as well as SeaWorld Abu Dhabi.
With more than 30 years in the industry, she was a natural choice for the Epic Universe project.
But in early 2020, after two years of work, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the project and considerably altered the creative process. While most of the design work had been completed by this time, the team was only able to tweak and refine its final designs virtually.
Later, when restrictions in the workplace were lifted, the project was shepherded to completion by an in-house production team to keep the project on deadline and to rein in cost.
“This made the original design team a bit apprehensive but also excited to see how our designs were brought to life in the context of the environments we could only imagine during the design phases,” said Weller.
In each theme park environment, the wardrobes reflect the persona or character of the person wearing them. For example, the wardrobe on the “Isle of Berk” was designed as a series of garments that could be mixed and matched to create an individualistic costume based on each crew member’s personality.
Weller describes it as creating “a big, playful puzzle.”
“It was a true treat to be given the opportunity to attend a park preview in April. Based on the feedback from crew members, they were enthusiastic about the wardrobe.”
Other areas of the Epic Universe theme park include “Dark Universe,” where Universal’s iconic monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula lurk in the mysterious village of Darkmoor; an expanded version of “Super Nintendo World;” and an immersive new way to experience Harry Potter’s world in “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic.”
When asked what advice she had for theatre and creative professionals just starting in the business, Weller emphasized being open to opportunities, even if they may not seem directly related to a person’s chosen field.
“For example, early work in merchandising trained me to work with budgets, working at a costume rental house helped me solidify my costume history period recognition, and working with a florist helped me see our common design principles in a whole new light,” said Weller.
She also encourages emerging professionals to network and join industry organizations.
“Keep in touch with friends as they move around in their careers and do the same with colleagues you liked working with once a given project is done. Networking involves being a good collaborator and reliable team member during your time working with the people you want to ultimately include in your networking community.”
Learn more about College of the Arts alum Karen Weller and her work in CSUF News and on the Costume Connection website.