Highlands Little Theatre - Leena Violette

P.O. Box 691 Sebring Florida USA 33871 Tel: 863-382-2525

Leena Violette - Renowned For Her Costume Design
By: Roy Riedy

Until her life was so quickly cut short in 1995, the name of Leena Violette and costumes at Highlands Little Theatre were synonymous. Her name first appears in the playbill for Fiddler On The Roof II, which opened in March of 1987. Her name is listed on the Production Staff page with several others who were concerned with "Wardrobe." From that time on, for the next eight years, her name, with the exception of three plays, appears connected with costuming or the Gourmet Division of HLT, usually both.

For this resolute devotion she was the winner of the Zenon Award for Best Costume Design seven different times: for Carousel (1988); The King and I (1989); My Fair Lady (1990); Oklahoma! (1991); Camelot (1993); South Pacific (1994); and 1776 (1995).

In addition to her Costume Awards, Leena was the recipient of two Board Service Awards in 1991 and 1994, and the distinguished Janelou Buck Significant Achievement Award, becoming its tenth recipient, in 1995. The Significant Achievement Award brought her tally of Zenons to a total of ten and put her in sixth place for the greatest number of Zenons received by a member, a distinction she shares with Margie Pollard, and a wonderful testimony to her generous work when one considers that this was done in the space of just eight years.

From 1982, the year that HLT acquired its theater property from the City of Sebring, costume storage was confined to a large closet in the corner of the kitchen area. It was a jumbled and disorganized arrangement at best, but it was all that was possible at that time. In 1991 great improvements were made. A grant was secured during the presidency of Tena Pollard Conyer and a storage area was built above the work area on stage right of the new stage which created a spacious room for the ever increasing inventory of garments being acquired by the Costume Department. The space below the storage area became known as "Leena's Room" and was equipped with cutting tables, shelves for materials, and the unfamiliar luxury of a washer and dryer. The Costume Department had undergone a "Cinderella" transformation and had come into its own.

It was from this outstanding new workspace that Leena performed her magic. "Sooners" from Oklahoma! jingled their spurs in their smart western wear; early England was robed again in cloth of gold for Camelot; sailors and nurses passed inspection in their trim uniforms in a theatrical South Pacific, and early American Revolutionaries argued in Philadelphia in Eighteenth Century magnificence in 1776. Space and splendor seemed to go hand in hand.

Unfortunately, this era came to an abrupt halt with Leena's sudden and surprising death in the summer of 1995. Reverend Andrew Conyer published a heartfelt appreciation in the program of Same Time, Next Year, the last show that Leena worked on, and it bears repeating for it reflects the thoughts of everyone that knew her:

"Leena Violette was the costume mistress for Highlands Little Theatre for many years. Her expertise and vision has created a lasting legacy for all of us to strive toward. Her countless hours of dedicated service has helped each actor remove themselves from the real world so they can portray their character more fully...we have been greatly blessed by our friendship with Leena... We bless you dear one on your journey as we go on with the show."

It is so true that because of your selfless work and labors Leena, that you, among others, have made Highlands Little Theatre the outstanding institution that it is and that its show still goes on.

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