Cousins Collaborate For Authenticity In Victorian Chautauqua Portrayal

Although actress and drama therapist Sara Sincell lives in far-away Los Angeles, that fact is not stopping her from traveling east this weekend to her home town to take part in the Mountain Lake Park’s Victorian Chautauqua. Sincell will be portraying Harriet Quimby, a ground-breaking young woman who among many other accomplishments was the first female aviator to cross the English Channel flying her own plane. 

The flavor of the Chautauqua, according to planner Mark Stutzman, is to celebrate innovations of the Victorian age, as well as to explore other new or different types of entertainment, technology, art, and culture. Bringing Harriet Quimby, a mostly unknown powerhouse of a woman, to the fore is in keeping with the VC themes.

Quimby was a dynamic person, beginning her public life in 1902 as a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and many of its offshoot publications. She moved to New York City a year later to work as a theater critic. More than 250 of her articles were published over a 9-year period. She attended an air show in 1910 and became fascinated with flying. One year later she earned her pilot certification, the first in the country for a woman, which began a colorful -- albeit too short -- flying career. 

After signing on to perform at the Chautauqua, Sincell dove into her research, determined to give Harriet a voice and to bring attention to her accomplishments during her short life. Finding what a pioneer female aviator wore was a journey in itself, and Sara knew to whom she could turn.

Shanna Sincell, wife of Garrett County native Dan Sincell, moved to the local area a year ago with her husband and their two children. Before the move, the family lived in Seattle, Wash., where Shanna worked for the Seattle Opera for seven years as a “ladies cutter” (a team leader and pattern maker). Before that she spent three years at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn. She spent many summers building costumes at Shakespeare festivals in Utah, Oregon, and Idaho. Shanna holds a bachelor of fine arts in theatre design and technology from Emerson College and a master of fine arts in costume production from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

Sara’s immediate feeling was that Shanna was the one to take this on. 

“I completely respect her talent and passion for a craft that she has clearly come to master,” Sara said. “I asked her, not knowing if she would be up for the task, as I knew it would be many hours of work. She responded with such excitement, it felt as if Harriet planted the seed, like it was all meant to be!” Shanna concurs, saying that as soon as Sara asked, she was “on board.”

In her research, Sara found a particular flight suit that was utterly unique. It was worn by Quimby as part of an advertising campaign for a new grape soda called Vin Fiz. It was a masterful piece of purple clothing, allowing Quimby to wrap it around her legs as pants, and to release it back as a skirt when in public. Women were to always wear dresses, but she needed her legs free when flying. This particular suit met those needs.

Shanna Sincell

“When Sara first called and said it was a flight suit, I pictured something much simpler,” Shanna said. “Once I looked Harriet up the first time I knew it had to be a custom patterned piece.” Fortunately, she did find a great deal of information online.

“When Sara first called and said it was a flight suit, I pictured something much simpler,” Shanna said. “Once I looked Harriet up the first time I knew it had to be a custom patterned piece.” Fortunately she did find a great deal of information online.

“It's really rare to work on a project with so many pictures available, and much of my research was hours spent blowing up photos to see different details of the costume,” she said. “Things like the buttons on the hood, how the skirt wraps into pants, how the cuffs button are each visible in a different picture.”  

Harriet’s work as a writer certainly helped the costume designer, as the young pilot actually wrote about her suit in one of her many published articles. 

Harriet Quimby

“Many have asked me about my flying costume,” Quimby wrote. “It may seem strange, but I could not find an aviation suit of any description in the great city of New York – and I tried hard. In my perplexity, it occurred to me that the president of the American Tailors’ Association, Alexander M. Grean, might be a good adviser, and he was, for it did not take him long to design a suit that has no doubt established the aviation costume for women in this country, if not for all the world.”

“Many have asked me about my flying costume,” Quimby wrote. “It may seem strange, but I could not find an aviation suit of any description in the great city of New York – and I tried hard. In my perplexity it occurred to me that the president of the American Tailors’ Association, Alexander M. Grean, might be a good adviser, and he was, for it did not take him long to design a suit which has no doubt established the aviation costume for women in this country, if not for all the world.”

‘It is made of thick, wool-back satin, without lining,” Quimby continued. “It is all one piece, including the hood. By an ingenious combination, it can be converted instantly into a conventional appearing walking skirt when not in use in knickerbockers form.” (May 18, 1911)

Shanna researched convertible skirts of the time period, with all examples created for bike-riding and horseback riding. She tailored some of these ideas into the unique suit she built for Sara. Shanna said she was surprised that no original Quimby flight suits are on display in any museum – just three reproductions.

Shanna sent the suit out to Sara in California, and her cousin-in-law was thrilled.

“Shanna is an absolute genius! Not only did she design and construct this costume based on extensive research and a limited number of mostly black and white photos, but she created a pattern that didn’t exist,” Sara said. “I am blown away by her crafts-womanship and am so honored to wear Harriet’s iconic purple flying suit!

“The moment I put it on, I stood taller. I felt powerful wearing such an intentional piece,” Sara said. “Harriet was a trailblazer, covering the map as the first to accomplish so many things that she was told she couldn’t do. This suit represents her so fully, and the confidence and perseverance of this woman is felt in every stitch. Powerful. Creative. Bold. Brave.”

Audiences may learn much more about Harriet Quimby on Sunday, July 10, under the Martin Tent at 1 p.m. and under the Burlington Tent at 3 p.m., where Sara Sincell will present her portrayal of the aviator and writer.  The entire weekend schedule of the Victorian Chautauqua can be found online at www.victorianchautauqua.com. The presentations are free to the public, supported by donors  Landon’s Library, Samantha Funding The Arts, John Rose at Edward Jones®, Friends of Ruth Enlow Library, Community Trust Foundation, Garrett County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council, Firewater Kitchen & Bar,| J. Gregory Law Firm, L.C., NeuBeam,| Laurel & Bill Grant, the Gilbert & Schlattman family, Mary Helen & Bob Spear, Don & Suzie Sincell, and the| Joseph H. Wooddell Trust.