[String Music] It was not planned.

I will say that ending up in Rapid City, South Dakota was not a plan.

It was just kind of a serendipitous happenstance.

I lived in Denver, from Denver.

I lived in Atlanta, lived in Fargo, North Dakota.

One point in time went to college up in Minnesota for a heart beat, ended up in Nebraska, ended up in South Dakota, ended up in Madison Wisconsin, all over the place.

So, and now Rapid City, South Dakota.

Flutter Productions is an all ability dance theater company We're part of the Black Hills Works family.

We create original productions that feature individuals with and without disabilities performing side-by-side on the stage.

Good morning, my name is Heather Pickering, and I am the artistic director and founder of Flutter Productions.

I'm going to go and invite our designers in.

[music] [background chatter] Tyler Brink!

Ali!

Ow!

Watch my hair.

So our designers for Fashion Able 2024 have been announced.

And today they have the opportunity to come and meet their volunteer, that they will be working with to bring their outfit to fruition.

The designer and the volunteer had the opportunity to look at the outfit together, come up with a game plan and a shopping list for their approach to the piece.

And a month from now, they will come back together with all of their supplies and materials to actually start building the outfit.

The chain through the gears.

Yeah.

You know, on your pants?

Yep.

That could be an option.

Do you want to do, now do you have a cape or not?

Yes.

The dancers can wear angel wings Is that what these are?

Yeah, with swords coming out of the angel wings.

Okay.

They get together for six sessions to create this fantastical creation.

And then it all culminates in a fashion show at the end of the fourth week.

Flutter came out of a production produced by Black Hills Community Theater and the Suzie Cappa Art Center in 2008.

That was the first production.

And from that, we created Flutter Productions.

And from 2008 to 2012 we performed a biennial production here in Rapid City.

And then in 2015 we came under the Black Hills Works umbrella.

And then 2017 was the very first Fashion Able show.

And we have since had a Fashion Able show in 2017, 2019.

We did have one in 2020 and three weeks later the world closed down.

And then we brought it back in 2022.

And now here we are in 2024 and we will be hosting our fifth Fashion Able all-ability threads fashion show.

And this year is our biggest show that we've ever had We have 26 designers this year.

So we are very excited.

[music] [indistinct chatter] Try to get it right next to that.

There you go.

Alright.

Perfect.

I was gonna put horns, but this is the one.

We decided not to.

There's my hammer.

Got a hammer.

My pants, my shirt.

And a red cape.

And my red cape.

Cool.

That's a handlebar.

That's a, what is that?

A bike chain?

Those are gears.

Gears.

And a bike chain and This is the fork of it.

I ride bikes all the time.

We got you some different size options here.

How do you feel about that?

Does that feel like a good selection for you to work with?

Yeah, this is supposed to be like kind of a like a Chinese kind of tiger pattern with the hood and the ears and there's like a icy blue unicorn horn on top of there.

There's always some surprises.

You know, things maybe don't quite work the way we were hoping they would work.

And I think part of the creative process also is when people get their stuff and they start laying it out.

They start seeing new possibilities.

And so I think that's always kind of the exciting part of the process.

[music] [indistinct chatter] So you think that's closer?

Okay.

How does that one feel?

Does it feel like there's stuff in that one?

Yeah.

Oh good.

Can you put that one back?

I'm going to hand you this painters' tape.

Thank you so much.

Fantastical.

Then we can just shut it.

Can we make sure there's some in here girl?

I don't... okay.

Red?

Nope, no red.

No red.

What's the title again?

Angel becomes?

Angel comes Angel comes back as a demon.

Okay.

So hence all of the creatures I would say, right?

Excellent.

Look at this Jeremiah.

See?

Yeah.

What do you think?

That's like the necklaces to end all necklaces man.

These are all clones by the way.

Oh okay.

These characters are clones.

So that's why they look alike.

These are the main characters.

Yeah, this is actually the first time I'm modeling for a fashion show.

So I'm really excited.

Doing your own stuff.

Yeah, I'm anxious but I'm also like excited.

Oh, heck yeah.

Yeah.

Well, already Tommy, we sat him down behind the surger.

That was fantastic.

Sara's never glued rhinestones to something.

That's fantastic.

And so I think already just, you know, some of those little tiny skills that people are getting.

So, I think it's a win already.

I've never sewed in my life.

It's pretty cool.

[music] [sewing machine whirring] I think it's doing good.

How are we doing Ordean?

This is our first day.

First day at it.

We'll do A B C D Yep.

Cutting out some letters and then we're going to pin them on the dress where he wants to put them on the dress.

Okay wait look.

Yeah.

That's the smile we like to see.

[music] I'm working on make-up palettes and spray painting and having fun.

That's the big - that's the main thing, having fun.

I learn more than what I try to impart, you know with different techniques.

And we get sharing, caring, loving, helping.

And show kindness.

She's better at this than I am.

[music] Okay girls, check us out Check us out.

Oh, my God.

Do you like this?

Yes, everything is gorgeous.

You are so gorgeous.

Like it?

OK.

Yay, me too.

[music] We're just going to put this on so we can kind of see what it's going to look like.

Yeah.

Jill Holien has done every Fashion Able to date.

She's also here with her two partners, Tony Call and Kevin Queen, and they have remained partners through every one of these projects.

And to the point where Jill now calls them my Kevin and my Tony.

So she was very thrilled that they had the time to return for year number five.

So we are building some butterfly wings.

This is not our first rodeo.

So we've done this a few times.

We've been with Jill since this all started.

So yeah, we work well together as a team and she has some great ideas and costumes that she comes up with.

Jill is also an artist downtown at the Suzie Cappa Art Center.

And Jill has occasionally used some of the art that she creates downtown at the Suzie Cappa Center to influence her outfit for Fashion Able.

[music] [ambient noise] [music] [wind chimes] [music] [indistinct chatter] The Rapid City community is very supportive of not only Black Hills Works, but Suzie Cappa, Flutter Productions.

It's just a tight knit community where everyone kind of just shares and grows and works together to make our whole community better.

Over 20 years ago, we had a person that we supported that their family, they actually hired a private art instructor and she built a whole portfolio by taking these art instructions.

And so it just kind of grew from there.

Seeing that interest, we thought, you know, there's lots of other people that I'm sure have that same interest and same ability.

And so we asked her family if they would mind if we started an art center and name it after her because that was our inspiration for the Suzie Cappa Art Center.

We've seen so many people come in, and its just wonderful to hear all the comments.

We have people that come from even other countries and they say we're like top notch.

You know, you have a lot of pride in working here because you know, it's a really great place for people to come and grow and express their art.

[music] We're going to walk to the gallery, okay?

Yeah.

You ready?

I'm ready.

Are you ready?

Yeah.

I work here at the art center as a DSP/Studio Manager So while I'm here, I help with anything and everything to be honest with you.

So some people come in with very little experience, some come in with more, and we just work from there.

So everything from like, mixing paint all the way up to like, oh how do we paint a cloud?

And everything in between.

Every day is different.

I really never know what's in store, but I'm always super excited to see what's going to be going on today.

[music] Jill Holien, she is everywhere all the time.

And she is one of the most active people I've ever met in my life.

Her social calendar is out of this world busy.

As far as her art goes, she started out really doing these soft sculptor pieces.

These sculptural heads with this wild, beautiful hair, made of pipe cleaners and yarn and embroidery floss.

And that's what she's known for.

She has heads that have been sold to people from all over the globe.

[music] Which one's your favorite one on the wall right now?

The blue one.

What do you like about her?

She's got pretty blue hair.

She does.

What's her name again?

That's Diane, the blue one.

Yes.

You have a Mona.

This necklace and earrings I made.

Yeah, you've been doing some of that.

Haven't you?

I'm making a butterfly costume for my show.

Oh, are you?

How's it going?

It's good.

I'm going to work on it tonight.

Are Kevin and Tony being pretty fun to work with again?

Yeah.

[music] So, I'm gonna give you this.

You can take that out to your table and then Come here, look right here.

My blue suede shoes.

Yeah, your blue suede shoes.

So here is the tag that says Shawn Stratton.

And what's hanging behind it?

Man, that's a good looking sweatshirt.

[music] [indistinct chatter] Who's this in the picture with you?

That's My horse Oliver And this is me.

I love to ride him.

And walk with him.

Try to get to know him better.

Is this part of the reason why you designed a Western dress?

Yes.

Because you love to ride horses?

Yes.

Are you excited to do this?

Oh, bet I do.

All right.

That's what I like to hear.

[blow dryer running] Go with the bluer one?

Hmm.

I think I'll go with the greener one.

Go with the greener one?

Yep.

Works for me.

So I'm thinking maybe I just cut some extra down here and then we just kind of... Configure it.

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

Okay, sounds good.

Okay.

Try just like... Yeah yeah, now do it.

Oh, yeah.

[music] [indistinct chatter] That was a good idea.

[music] [indistinct chatter] You want to do another coat on the front?

Or do you think that's fine?

I think it's good there.

Look at these.

Now try them on.

[music] [background chatter] There you go.

Yeah.

[music] [background chatter] [music] [ambient noise] [music] [car running] [music] [car door shuts] [music] [ambient noise] We've recycled over 500,000 pounds of material Since we opened up.

Tyler and Blaze are a very important part of that.

They're the reason why we're at that point.

As you may be scan around a little bit, you can see all the different types of items.

We recycle here.

TVs, monitors, computers.

We recycle almost any of the material that's electronic.

It made me feel good inside that I'm keeping these things out of our landfill.

It's not good for our environment.

It could make fires or a bunch of other stuff.

Polluting our air.

[music, ambient noise] I have two individuals that work every day, Monday through Friday, and a third one that works just on Monday during the week.

But they enjoy what they do, and they're pretty good at what they do.

[music] I just- I enjoy Randy and I like Blaze and they're good guys.

I tried to take apart a clock that I got for graduating from high school.

I was hoping I could turn it into a Bluetooth speaker.

[music] You come to work every day because you are doing something that you enjoy.

This is something that every day you feel a part of something.

Same thing goes for those guys.

[music] [ambient noise] [music] [music] [background chatter] [music] I have to add two more coat- one more coat on here.

Then that part would be done.

Yep, so we're gonna pin it up here all the way around.

And then we'll sew that piece on.

And then we'll have to make a piece for your arm And then we'll do the bracelet.

I set it out And I was going to glue them.

But I realized that these are stretch.

So if you glue them, they will pop off.

So I'm doing by hand.

So I'm sewing by hand.

So.

[blow dryer running] What do you think?

Supermodel.

[laughter] Supermodel!

[music] [laughter] [surger whirring] So what do you think about something like this?

That'd be good.

You think that's going to work?

Yep.

I think probably what really makes this all worth it and just really like-- oh, this is such a great cause.

And such a great event.

And it's great opportunity is Is the crowd and the people, the night of the show.

That's like where it all comes to fruition and everybody's cheering and clapping.

And it's just-- that's what touches your heart, I guess and really Makes it all worth all the effort and time that you spend in it.

[music] [truck passing by] [music] [indistinct chatter] Does it need to be a little lower?

This?

Probably.

[music] Alex has come up with this wonderful design.

And we made a little prototype.

[shuffling through jewelry] Alex has a really fun idea.

I loved her idea when I first saw it.

It was like, oh, this is going to be so good.

Are you pumped?

I'm pumped.

I am so pumped.

I have trouble sleeping at night.

I am so pumped.

[music] [music] [music] [footsteps in snow] I guess this is where the rubber meets the road a little bit.

[music] [footsteps in snow] So today we are having bad weather.

Unfortunately, one of our designers we found out at the last minute will not be able to be here today.

His volunteer also will not be able to make it in to work on the project today.

However, his model is coming in for a fitting today.

So I am going to go ahead and do the fitting.

So we make sure the dress fits well enough before they get too much further into the process.

Another one of our designers struggles with getting going in the morning.

And so we also received a call from her staff letting us know that she would be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour late this morning.

We have another volunteer out this sick right now and a couple other folks with relatives that are hospitalized.

So yeah, there's just a lot going on right now.

We just had a few, you know, little-- little dive bombs that are starting to happen to the schedule this week.

But we're doing it.

[laughter] Hi Renae, how are you?

[laughter] Hi, how are you?

He's not done.

He just worked on it for one day so far.

Oh, that's cool.

Yeah, it's kind of cool.

It fits me.

It's going to keep me warm.

Yeah I think you-- you're kind of lucky.

You get the one warm costume at the cold fashion show.

Did you see it even has pockets?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Pretty cool.

Here, put it out to the-- oh, this one goes over here then you say And then hitchhike your thumb back.

Good job.

I think it's going to be pretty cool.

I think you're going to rock it.

Yeah.

It's going to be great.

Yep.

[music] [background chatter] This one you come down like this.

Now it's not safe.

But it doesn't make any clicking.

So to be safe, you have to push this back up.

Little click.

And then we high five because we're safe.

Cool.

And you can.

There you go.

Should we see how you did?

Now this blade has probably got some nicks in it.

So it kind of misses a few spots.

But you did pretty good.

[music] [laughter] But that's-- So i will see you in two weeks.

Two weeks.

Today is Thursday.

Yep two weeks.

We'll try it on one more time.

We'll practice with Ordean.

Okay.

And then on the 27th.

You're going to come spend the whole day with me.

Okay.

Yeah.

[music] Most outfits I would say are close to about a third of the way completed.

So we still have a little bit of ways to go.

The weather has thrown us for a lovely loop this week.

Unfortunately today, a few people didn't make their session.

So we're of course scrambling to see if we can schedule or fit in make up sessions.

But we think most of us, we can get ourselves back on track hopefully, so.

Fashion Able is really an educational experience for the people who are involved.

Okay, would you like to put your foot there and you can push on the gas pedal and fill this bobbin.

[sewing machine whirring] Push this a little harder.

There you go.

You know we encourage people to be creative, come up with an idea.

Maybe you take something you're interested in and turn that into an outfit.

Maybe there's something that you're a big fan of and you'd like to create something in tribute to it.

We always tell people they can't copy something that already exists.

They can take an element of that and like blow it up or take the essence of something and create something original.

So the hope is that they can kind of sit side by side with somebody and kind of help them understand how to use different instruments, different tools, different techniques and processes so they can start to kind of slowly connect the dots as to how something might come together.

Look what you just did.

Good job.

You helped shorten the straps on your dress.

Yay!

Yeah.

[laughter] Sorry.

Good job.

Thank you.

Hey, Emilia!

And company.

[distant] Hi!

Where are you?

Oh hey!

[laughter] Okay, so here's my big plan for today.

Trae is here working on this outfit.

This year we will have a couple of additional performers that will also be in the space, in addition to our dancers.

Part of their purpose is to assist maybe a few folks who maybe need a little bit of extra assistance out there on the runway, but to do so in a theatrical manner that incorporates the designer's vision.

[background chatter] We're about halfway through our process.

We got all the music from all the models.

And now the students are work shopping and putting together the movement that's going to be happening around the models as they show off their designs on the runway.

Well, this one is my first time dancing.

It's so much fun.

You can learn so much from all the different people.

And it's a great way to connect.

You get to meet new friends.

It's really fun.

It's just a really fun thing to be a part of, especially like the day of the show itself.

It tends to be very chaotic.

And lots of running around.

But it's with a lot of really fun people.

So it's really cool to see it all put together.

We haven't met our designers, the people who designed the pieces yet.

So it's the first time we get to connect with them and see it all kind of together.

Awesome.

Okay, so I think that's a fun starting point.

There we go.

Bring young people into the space.

I think is incredibly important for them to just be mindful of every person in society that maybe surrounds them and just be aware that every single person has value and every single person possesses the ability to be creative.

Creativity is just like any other skill.

It's just something to kind of be taught and mined and practiced and then anybody can be creative.

Okay, that one?

Yeah.

One or two?

One?

Okay.

Wait one or two?

Which one do you like?

You like one?

Me too.

I like that one too.

Me too.

[music] [background chatter] I'm just coloring this unicorn horn with metallic cyan.

And after this dries, I'm gonna put on this mod podge here.

Once I apply, I'm gonna add some nice glitter.

So it'll really look like it's really nice and shiny.

[music] It's cool, it works.

We'll do it again.

It seems to work.

Open your arm all the way out.

There you go.

And then once you have your matching shirt I think it looks lovely.

Yeah.

It works!

Woohoo!

[laughter] Thank you.

Could you do this side?

It needs a little help.

[laughter] [music] So you excited for the show, Jill?

Yeah, two more weeks.

Two more weeks, that's right.

Does your mom know about this one?

I going to show her at the greenhouse.

You didn't tell her anything about this one though?

Not yet.

It's gonna be a surprise?

Yeah, a surprise for mom.

That'll be cool.

You're so cute.

[high five] [music] My daughter is Jill Holien.

She is a 43-year-old Down Syndrome woman.

And she has been active with Flutter for... I want to say 12 years at least.

Almost since the very beginning of Flutter, she's participated in different activities.

My parting memory of the hospital is when the doctor told me she would never be a dancer.

She would never aspire to doing creative things in her life because she was Down Syndrome.

So that kind of challenged me to raise her as a person who was exposed to everything.

She started school at six weeks old.

She was the youngest child ever in Rapid City for infant stimulation classes.

And she went all the way through the Rapid City schools and graduated.

She lived with me until she was 21.

When she was almost 22, we moved her out of my house and to a Black Hills Works apartment.

And she has been in Black Hills Works housing ever since.

[music] The first time I saw Jill on a stage, it was a moment that I thought I as a mother would never experience.

Here was this little girl who is now in her 20s that they told me couldn't do this and couldn't do that and wouldn't be on stage and couldn't sing and couldn't do these things.

Here she was on stage doing those things.

I sat there and had tears running down my face.

I just couldn't believe it.

You could just tell she was all there and she had a job and she did her job.

And I have felt that way through all of her performances.

There hasn't been a single one where I haven't teared up.

Those are my momma moments that I never thought I'd have with my daughter that I have.

That's awesome.

It doesn't get better than that.

[music] Yeah, it's coming together really good.

It is.

It'll be really neat when it's all done.

[background chatter] Blue hands!

[door opens] [background chatter] [spraying paint] We're doing great.

What do you think?

Cool!

You got it!

You got it!

Let's go!

Let's go run inside!

Go, go, go, go, go!

[laughter] I was spray painting my wings.

Next time we have Fashion Able, Let's do it in the spring.

[music] Push it, push it girlfriend, push it.

Ah, we are.

We're pushing it, that's for sure.

There it is.

Wooo!

[laughter] [clapping] Which side do you like better?

Can you point at which one you like better?

Hmm.

Mhmm.

I agree with you, friend.

I think you're right.

Yep.

[music] Rachel's story.

We were excited that we were having a girl.

Um, we didn't know what a blessing we were getting.

Oh, okay.

I gotta stop a minute.

Did you have to start there?

[music] When Rachel came into the world, she was ready to take it on.

And, um, we're proud to be her parents.

Down syndrome's never stopped her.

She loves to dance and sing and act.

And, um, color.

She loves makeup and hair and nails.

She's the best girly girl in the world.

But, she does love WWE.

[laughs] [music] We came to Flutter in 2008.

And Rachel found a home.

It was the best thing in the world for her.

[music] Flutter Productions definitely is her home away from home.

She just loves being here.

And, um, we hope it continues for a very long time.

[music] We've made some great friendships all through the years that have lasted all this time.

Well, there's a lot of occasions, but One of the first times she got on stage as far as Fashion Able was and walked that runway.

Nobody.

Nobody was prepared for-- because she hadn't given us this drama, this sass, this dancing, swirling girl.

And she got up there.

Her music came on and she walked that runway.

Like she was supposed to be in New York City.

It was great.

The crowd went wild.

She ate that up and smiled and laughed and just swished her dress and twirled.

And, I think the runway is her thing.

[laughs] [music] [music] [car drives by] [music] [people entering] [background chatter] [music] You remember the name of your design?

Remember Susan... Susan Roundtree.

Susan Roundtree, very good.

Yeah.

Where did you get the name?

Was it in a dream?

It was in the dream, yeah.

Yeah.

That's a good name.

Yeah.

My name's Ordean Stevenson.

I'm a designer for Fashion Able.

I got a gift from God He gave me the calendar in my head.

So I would remember everybody's birthdays, anniversaries.

Yep, I know somebody who said, you saved their marriage because they had forgotten it was their anniversary, and you walked into their office and told them happy anniversary.

Right, yeah.

And then they remembered it was their anniversary.

So they didn't have to admit they'd forgotten.

[laughter] I remember that, yeah.

788 00:34:29,650 --> 00:34:30,693 Yeah.

[music] I worked in different places.

Worked in the dining room, Worked down in the root cellar.

Then I worked down in the coal bin.

You shovel the coal, you get dirty real good.

Real black Shoveling coal.

And from there, I went to the greenhouse.

Then I moved on.

Came to Rapid City.

1975.

August 4th, Monday at 3:30, I came out here.

Why did you come to Rapid City?

A job.

Black Hills Works.

The kitchen.

That's the last job I had, in the kitchen.

Last job I had at the Black Hills Works.

[music] Yeah, back in November, came back to see Heather.

I came back to do a Flutter again.

I was gone for four or five years.

I came back.

I stay home and I get bored.

Nothing at home to do.

So I decided to come out Do the Flutter again.

Can you tell us what you designed this year for Fashion Able?

Alphabet.

Doing the alphabet this year.

[music] [vacuum whirring] [music] [background chatter] [music] There's another shade.

Because it might be fun, you know, take a sweatshirt, shove the arms out, put a belt on the bottom.

We are getting some accessories for the dancers to wear, so that they go along with their models.

So they kind of compliment them.

Oh, wait a week.

It's a week from today.

We've got a week.

[laughter] Right now, we are gluing sequins to this corset top, which is going to be her kind of her mermaid Ariel top.

It's been going pretty good.

We got our tail finished last time, and it looks really cool.

And then this is our last project for her outfit, and then we're done and ready to go.

[music] I think it turned out really good.

I'm very excited for the show next Saturday.

[music] It's so cool, Meghan.

So yeah, you can give them a nice pose, right?

Maybe even put a shoe forward.

There you go, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

[music] Give us a little dancing there.

[clicking] Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.

Look at that butterflies.

It looks cool.

And then Saturday, it'll be a whole day of Showing them what to do, pizza That's what she's most excited about.

[laughter] [music] [background chatter] Give me hug.

Okay.

I like you.

I like you too.

It's been fun working with you again.

Yep.

[music] [background chatter] Yellow for A, orange for B Yellow for A, orange for B. Okay, here we go.

Ta-Da!

Ta-Da!

[laughter] Oh, beautiful!

Oh my goodness Cindy!

Here we go.

The red on down Woo!

Yep.

What are your pretty woman dance moves going to be?

Oh, yeah!

Oooh.

Yeah.

I love it.

[clapping] [laughter] I love it.

And Cindy, pose!

[music] [garage door opening] Look at that sunshine [music] [truck backing up] [music] [music] [metal clanking] [music] [loading into truck] [music] [truck driving away] [music] [truck driving] [crash] [music] [car driving] [music] [music] [truck pulling in] We didn't die.

Look at that.

Oh, did we lose an eyeball?

Yeah.

Oh, but Nothing fell over.

Yes [laughter] [music] [ambient noise] [music] [car pulls in] - Can I load you up?

[laughter] [laughter] I'm so sorry.

[fork lift running] [saw cutting through metal] [cell phone beep] Tickets must be purchased in advance through our website, flutterproductions.com.

Social media done for the day.

[music] - This is one of the greenhouses we produce in year around.

And we happen to have a garden bar in here for our customers to relax at.

But this time of year, the greenhouse happens to be pretty vacant.

And so we've been privileged to host Fashion Able for Flutter Productions.

[music] It's not only amazing what gets put together, but then to see the finished product.

And honestly, I've had numerous people who have come to them and said, "What a cool venue, what a cool spot."

I'm amazed at Heather and her volunteers and just everybody that gets, you know, involved.

[music] The bar here, which is kind of unique in itself, we have open for the event.

We make up, I don't know.

Tons of popcorn, it's just a lot of fun and we're going to have a great evening.

[music] So Devorah, come be my eyeballs.

This is what I'm trying to say.

Look at the top.

See how the things are not all evenly.

Yeah.

So that's what I'm talking about.

We're going to make that look pretty.

We've got the chairs set up, we've at least got curtains hanging.

We've a little bit of decorating to still do.

We have some popcorn to pop for a few hundred people.

And we have-- Oh a delivery.

[music] We hit a couple of stumbling stones today, unfortunately.

One of our performers, designers, performers, has fallen ill.

She is one of my favorite performers.

She is completely 100% present in the space.

She absolutely knows how to fill the space with this incredible energy that just captivates anyone watching her and pulls you right into her.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Disappointed, disappointed she won't be here, but it's okay.

It happens.

It happens right.

It happens in theater all the time.

There's under studies for a reason.

We didn't quite have an under study, but unfortunately I will say, one of our volunteers who's already helping two people is going to be filling in for her.

So tomorrow will be a little bit hectic for her.

[music] [clothes rack rolling] [music] [Heather being interviewed] [music] [music] [music] [people shuffling] Check one, two.

Check, check.

[music] Oh my god it's so cute!

Yes, yes.

You can scooch all the way down in front of-- There you go, there you go.

[music] I was here till 11:30.

I've been up since 5.

I just don't have time sometimes.

I'm sorry.

[music] [background chatter] Woo!

[music] Ah, those wings are fabulous.

We don't want to miss them.

Ready to come back here.

[music] Okay, fabulous!

Thank you everybody.

Give yourselves a round of applause!

[clapping] [cheering] Those of you who started eating at the beginning of all of this.

If you could take like another five minutes and then we can get you into the back room and we need to start getting people into hair and make up and changing as kind of as quickly as possible.

[music] [background chatter] Holy cow!

I look just like Taylor!

[clapping] [music] [background chatter] Oh yeah, we got fairy lights!

[music] [background chatter] [camera flashes] Awesome you guys.

Good job.

Excellent.

So let's get the designers in there as well.

[music] [background chatter] We got the rehearsal.

We have everybody fed.

Another volunteer came down with the flu and will be unable to join us this evening.

So we're short three people now, but it's okay.

We have people filling in all over the place and our orchestra students from Stevens High School have just arrived.

So we're going to get them set up, get them playing.

In five minutes the door is open.

So we're, we're getting there.

Yeah, five minutes.

Yeah, sorry.

Yep [laughter] Thank you five.

[laughter] [music] [people shuffling] [background chatter] Hi!

Oh, it's nice to see you.

I'm glad you're here.

I am too.

So, get in there quick and get a good front row seat.

[music] [people walking] Oh, I'm so excited we're here - so thank you.

This is the moment.

[laughter] It's going to be great!

It is.

Thank you so much you guys.

Now without further ado, Flutter Productions proudly presents the fifth Fashion Able.

[music] [crowd clapping and cheering] [music] So success for Fashionable 2024.

Do our designers walk away with a smile on their face?

Did they maybe learn something new?

Did they have the opportunity to share their idea with an audience?

Did they get the chance to see that their idea has value?

And that people appreciate their value?

And hopefully they see their own value when it's done.

And then they continue to seek out experiences where they can create or add to our community and be a part of history that is catalogued and not something in the foot notes or kept in the background.

So that is what success will look like for Fashion Able 2024.

[background chatter] [joyous scream] [background chatter] Yay!

Adante, thank you so much for being here tonight.

You just came from where?

New York City, yeah.

I just, I live out there now and I'm back home 'cause I grew up here.

I remember coming to see Flutter, which is the very first one.

And that was-- blew my mind, I was like, I have to get involved with this in some capacity.

And I think the biggest thing that it teaches you is the sense of community and how theater is a collaborative art form.

So I feel like having everyone be on stage, just one of the most important things.

And it's an experience everyone should do.

Everyone should be on stage, like once in their life because you can affect someone in the audience.

And vice versa.

[background chatter] Thank you so much.

This was incredible.

Thank you, you guys.

Yeah!

Thank you for coming and supporting it.

[background chatter] We had so much fun!

This was great.

The best!

[background chatter] It was awesome.

It was a great time.

- It was great.

I really enjoyed it.

I'm just like, oh.

- That was great.

- It was awesome.

- Yeah, yes, of course.

[laughing] I had a lot of fun.

I can't wait to do it again.

I did so much and it was very overwhelming, but so much joy.

It was great.

It was so much fun.

The audience loved it.

The costumes were amazing.

The music was awesome, I will be doing it again for sure.

It was great.

It was my first time and I wanted to cry.

The entire time.

It's so beautiful.

- Hot take.

10 out of 10, loved it.

Everybody rocked it.

I'm so proud of everybody.

Heather's a superstar.

All the volunteers are superstars.

I'm just stoked on all of this.

Like, it was a blast.

I'm staying away from you.

We survived, yes.

We more than survived.

We thrived.

It was beautiful.

It was fun.

It was amazing.

Just as always.

It's just the most people that have showed up.

For Fashion Able I think.

Woo!

Bye Renae.

[music] What have you got going on?

Tell me about them.

One's blue, one's silver.

- Why is one blue and one silver?

This is ice.

This one's metal.

[music] I think it's amazing.

I get a lot of joy out of doing theater and kind of participating in the arts and so being able to extend that to people.

All kinds of people everywhere is really important and I think it's awesome that we're doing that.

I agree.

It's amazing what we can all do to put on a show together.

Ready?

Three, two, one!

Come out, Richard the Wrestler!

Woo!

[laughter] [clapping] Look at it, it's so awesome!

[music] Have you seen it in the mirror?

That's good.

I love it!

[laughter] [music] [background chatter] [music] Nice.

I love it!

Do you love it?

Yeah.

[music] I like it.

[music] Tell me what you're making.

Butterfly necklace.

Mm-hmm.

Butterfly bracelets It's beautiful.

You like it?

I do.

[music] [music] Yes so that's gonna be exactly what its gonna be like.

He's Alive!

[laughter] So you have [French accent] the two pieces of your beret, Are sewn together.

[laughter] [French accent] Oui, oui.

[laughter]