By Yashnoor Kaur ’18, Associate Blog Editor; Serena Lin ’19, Staff Writer

Kiyo Moriuchi’s kingdom is the costuming room, hidden below a stairwell off of the senior hallway.

The walls of the costuming room are lined with garment racks full of clothing. It’s a dazzling array, ranging from dark velvet jackets to glimmering pink tulle. The thrumming of a sewing machine fills the room.

Moriuchi’s involvement in costuming traces back to her own time as a Moorestown Friends School student. When she was in Lower School, the parents would make the costumes for school plays and musicals. As a Upper School student, she began to work on costumes herself. This is a tradition she continued when she returned to the Moorestown area as an adult.

The first May Day she worked on was in 1994. Back then, there weren’t a lot of original costumes left, so she had to start from scratch. Now, there is a whole collection of both previous years’ costumes and donated clothing to work with.

As May Day 2018 nears, Moriuchi is busy directing the costuming of all Moorestown Friends School students and faculty. It’s a labor-intensive job, but she isn’t alone in her process. She is assisted by a rotating group of parents and alumni volunteers. Rose Frola, the administrative assistant in the business office, has worked with Moriuchi since the 1994 May Day. Additionally, faculty and staff also helped with costuming during their in-service day.

Preparations begin far in advance. Moriuchi typically begins to think about the costumes for the next May Day at the end of the previous one. For this year’s May Day, she began drawing designs over the summer and started the actual hands-on work right after the fall musical. Her favorite part of the costuming process is design. She likes “seeing it come together.”

Moriuchi’s inspiration comes primarily from previous May Days and watching a plethora of Shakespearean plays. She finds it interesting to see various interpretations of Shakespeare, as the productions can range from modern to traditional. For Moriuchi, the fun part of May Day costuming is collaborating with students. The students use their imaginations to make each costume their own. She remarks that every year, there are kids who really do an amazing job. This year, Upper School students were allowed to have some choice in their respective grades’ costume theme, a decision Moriuchi liked. As for changes for future May Days, there are certain themes such as spring festival and pilgrimage that she would like to include more in the costume theme.

Her hope is for May Day to “evolve into a four-year celebration of arts at Moorestown Friends School.” There are many talented alumni and current students who could be highlighted at such an event.

Moriuchi, a steady force behind many different iterations of May Day, can appreciate the work that goes into each one: “I’m really grateful for the help that we get … There’s a lot to get done, and there’s not as many people who have the sewing skills, but you know, it’s fun. It’s a big community event, so it’s really important.”