When Laci (Bradshaw) Roberts was a student at Forney High School years ago, she knew she enjoyed the theater arts program, and it was clear that she had an artistic knack for creating various things. Fast forward twenty years and Roberts now has a resumé that includes working as a wardrobe assistant and Head of Wardrobe for twelve years on the road with various tours of theatrical productions, including The King and I, Miss Saigon, and Beauty and the Beast. Most recently, though, she wrapped up her work on the hit Paramount+ series, 1883.
Roberts, a talented seamstress, had been living in North Texas again along with her husband, Barrett, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when theater tours were largely put on hold. During this time off the road, Roberts found other outlets for her many creative abilities, including teaching art classes and working on some of her personal painting projects. When a call came out looking for stitchers on a project filming in the area, Laci was quick to respond, hoping to get her foot in the proverbial door of film work. She was hired on for a temporary position initially, tasked with doing alterations for a few weeks. A few weeks turned into several months, and the job description went from alterations on costumes for background cast to working full time in the tailor shop assisting with costumes for principal actors and eventually to working as a costumer on the set of the Yellowstone prequel. “I got a really well-rounded view of the show, from making the costumes to dressing the actors,” Laci said. “And I knew how fortunate I was. I was so lucky to walk on the set every day.”
With filming lasting roughly half a year and days running as long as 10 to 15 hours a day six days a week, the cast and crew spent countless hours together and got along wonderfully. From Tim McGraw tossing a football around on set during breaks to daily mealtimes reminiscent of a giant tailgate party, Roberts said they all became like a big family. “Big” being a keyword in that phrase, the production of 1883 created jobs for around 600 men and women throughout the course of filming. “It brought so much work for our industry here,” Roberts stated. In addition to the traditional cast and crew you’d associate with a film production, 1883 was unique in that it also employed about a hundred cattle wranglers who were busy with cattle drives nearly every day. “It was all very authentic,” Laci commented, adding that 1883 had real wagons, cattle, and more as a part of the show. “We were out in the elements every day. It was an amazing experience, and you could tell it was going to be spectacular.”
For a creative spirit like Laci, putting her skills to work in a costume shop after touring for so many years was a definite highlight of the experience. Couple that with working under the award-winning costume designer, Janie Bryant, and this was a chance of a lifetime. Despite the long hours and the time spent away from her husband and family, Roberts would not have traded this opportunity. “I met so many people I consider my friends now, and it’s opened a whole new world for me,” she said. She went on to work on the set of the musical Hadestown in January and hopes to continue film work in the near future.
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