Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2019

PEOPLE a dash of color
Cultivating Artist
CREATIVE ELEMENTS OWNER BRINGS PIZAZZ TO PRODUCTIONS
COAST CHARACTER
story by Jeff Clark photos courtesy of Denise Baumann
or Denise Baumann of Biloxi, it all started with an Andrew Lloyd Webber production. It was the
break that would set her on the path to starting her own entertainment empire. But before there was Creative Elements Productions, her multi-tiered entertainment agency, there was “Cats,” the Andrew
Lloyd Webber musical. And, no, she wasn’t starring as “Glamour Cat” Grizabella, belting out “Memory” to sold-out crowds. Instead, she worked behind the scenes in one of the most important aspects of the
show — wardrobe and costumes. It would be hard to have “Cats” without any cats in costumes.
“I was 18 and I was going to college for business, but I got a job working for a traveling version of ‘Cats’ doing costumes and then I toured with “Starlight Express,” another Andrew Lloyd Webber show,” she said. “It hadn’t toured since 1984, so I was part of the team that took the costumes
out of storage and restored them. It was the best $12-an-hour job I ever had. Everyone thinks it’s all glitz and glamour, but I was spreading crotches and armpits into leotards.”
These days Baumann runs Creative Elements Productions, which concentrates on booking talent, staffing events, special FX and make up, costumes and wardrobe design.
If you need it, she can do it, with a larger-than-life personality and a dash of color.
“I saw where Cirque du Soleil was at the Beau Rivage and I wanted to work there, so I called them directly, which is exactly what you’re not supposed
to do,” she said. “I met a man named George Ross who was so instrumental in my career. I told him I did costumes and makeup and that I was fabulous. He brought me in for an interview
and hired me on the spot. Then I
met Anthony Gibson, who books
the entrainment, and I started doing costumes and makeup there. However, I also saw the need to start my own company when the Beau brought me back as a vendor.”
Baumann started her own LLC and went to work. With a reputation on the Coast for hair and makeup, she has met many talented people and pursued an interest in discovering >>
Denise Baumann
32 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • February 2019 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net