Dollhouse

Alana Stone. Seamstress. Songstress. Luminous and Intriguing Woman of Mystery!

But, how much longer can she protect her astonishing & frequently hilarious secrets? Before the veil is finally lifted on this bafflingly talented singer / songwriter and Dollhouse Cosumier?

Not terribly long, as it turns out. For when LA Dollhouse ask if she’d care to participate in our first ever ’Q&A with The Stars’, she was only too happy to graciously answer all the questions you posed her.

Literally, all of them! (We’d have never answered the spoilerific or naked ones!) But there you go. This just goes to show how truly generous and magnanimous the lovely Alana is.

So, enough of our waffling. And on with the Questions! Straight into a random little section of 11 questions we like to call...

’Getting To Know Alana The Random Way!’ (After the Jump)

THE ALANA STONE Q&A

Getting to know Alana The Random Way

Hi Alana! How are you? Nervous about this Q&A?

 I’m fine thanks! Nervous? Should I be?

Where did you wake up this morning?

 In my very own, very yummy, bed that I wish I was back in right now.

Got any pets? if so, what are they?

 I LOVE animals. My cat, Aroura. My dog, Fallyn (Maltese/ Lhasa). The family dog, Wrangler (Australian Shepherd/ Corgi). All of them were rescued in one way or another.

Ever been chatted up / snogged by a celeb?

 Yes and yes but I can’t tell which ones.

Have you ever been arrested? If so, was it for something exciting?!

 Nope

If you had a super power, what would it be?

 Teleportation or telepathy!

What was the last lie you told?

 It depends what you call a lie... I try not to lie but sometimes I just don’t tell the whole truth.

Growing up, were you a Girly Girl (all Horses, and stickers and Princesses tea-Parties) or a Lil TomBoy (Sticks and rocks and knives!)?

 I’m still growing up... but I would say I’m a pretty balanced combo. When I was younger though loved rainbows and pegacorns but could beat the boys in arm wrestling. Unfortunately, they all out-grew me.

What’s makes you immediately furious even thinking about it? (Cellphones in cinemas? Smoking? Terrible Fake Accents? Friday night death slots? etc)  Haha! Sox and sandals. Movies that stray from the storyline of the books that they are based on.

What’s your favorite show on televison (apart from Dollhouse)?

 Apart from Dollhouse... Law and Order:SVU, Gossip Girl, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters... there are quite a few more. I actually was happy with the Friday time slot cause it didn’t have to compete for my DVR’s attention.

You’re out at a bar. The barman says "Order anything you want. It’s on the House!" What do you order?

 Hmmm, probably whiskey.

Whis is your favorite country you’ve ever been to? And which country are you dying to go to? (And why?)

 See this question is WAY too difficult to answer. I have loved aspects of every place that I have visited. Ireland, the UK, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Fiji, Australia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Tanzania and of course the U.S. I want to see the world!

FASHION!

How would you describe your own personal fashion style?

 I would call my style eclectic. I find different pieces that I love and build outfits around them.

Is there anyone whose style you admire / or personally seek to emulate?

 Um, similar to the previous question I love emulating everyone. There are so many people that inspire my style. I guess if I had to pick one person though... it would be my mom. She taught me everything she knows.

Leather Lover

Which of the casts outfits have you covetted for yourself?

 Wow... um... Adelle’s shoe collection, Echo’s leather outfits.

Who’s your fashion favourite designer, and why?

 Haha don’t hate... I do buy off the rack but I hunt for designer finds. Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana, and Gucci.

What item of clothing can you absolutely not live without?

 I think it is essential that every girl/ woman own multiple little black dresses. You just never know!

What item of clothing can you absolutely not live without, (but would rather die than EVER leave the house in)?

 Haha I have a "Phantom" sleep shirt that I have had since I was like 10 that is washed out pink, thin worn out cotton, and I got it one of the first times I saw the "Phantom of the Opera."

What was your favorite item(s) of clothes as a kid?

 Do headbands count?

What is the Biggest / Most humiliating fashion faux-pas you’ve ever made? (And may we see photos?)

 Haha do headbands count? I’m not talkin’ the cute Blair Waldorf headbands. There were some BAD ones.

How did you first get into Television Wardrobe work?

 My mom is a designer. I started assisting her on commercials when I graduated from high school and the rest is history.

What’s your favorite part of the job?

 I would have to say being on set is my favorite part of the job because you get to work with and meet some awesome people. Also, you never really know what to expect!

What’s your least favorite thing about the job?

 I definitely don’t like the hours. I don’t really have a social life outside work.

Has there ever been a ’wardrobe malfuntion’ / crisis / moment of high drama? How did you handle the stress?

 I think there is probably one a day... but there was a good one when we were filming the first episode of the first season. We had multiple units shooting all over Downtown LA I moved with Eliza over to a location in Chinatown and realized that her shoes were in the trailer sitting on the 405 freeway on the way back to Fox. I had to find the closest department store that carried them and run to go get them. Literally run... across busy Downtown streets. Good times.

Do you ever think about selling your home and living in the costume department? :D

Dolls’ Wardrobe

 I already live in the Dollhouse costume department so, no. The Fox rental house has an archive room that has all of the costumes from Moulin Rouge, Titanic, Walk the Line, Sound of Music, and many others. I would totally want to live there. However, I would most definitely sell my house to live in the Dollhouse.

You’ve got one of the best-looking casts on TV, and you do an amazing job of dressing them for success. So spill... Who’s the best-dressed cast member in real life? And, more importantly, who’s the worst?

 Everyone dresses themselves pretty well! I love Dichen and Eliza’s real life style though.

Working in wordrobe, you’ve probably seen the entire cast naked. When was the last time anyone saw you naked? LOL!

 Haha MOM you are embarassing me! Just kidding... whose asking?

Educational!In one hilarious scene from ’Needs’, Victor was rendered completely horrified when he located Leather Chaps & a Posing Pouch amongst his extensive Doll wardrobe. I need photos from the fitting from this outfit. (It’s very important. It’s for, erm... a term paper.) Can you please provide them?

 Oh man... if we fit him in those I would have those pictures in my own personal favs collection.

When the writers hand a script to the Wardrobe Dept, do they have preconceived ideas about what the costuming should be or is it more a case of "Here it is! Have fun with costuming!

 Occasionally, the script will specifically refer to or make mention of something like a sweater vest or a Matrix outfit, but usually its the designers job to create the specific look for each character.

Where does your / Shawna’s costume inspiration for the show come from?

 Inspiration comes from different places for the different characters, especially with the dolls being so versatile.

Whats the most complicated design you’ve worked on?

 Hmmm... I’m not sure.

Enjoying the Q&A so far?

 Yep.

Going by the Promotional shots at least, the enire color palatte of the show seems to have changed from Season One to Season Two. The warm, deeply saturated oranges and reds, (seen most notably within the Dollhouse set) seems to have been replaced instead with cooler blues and steely grays (as in ’Epitah One’). How has this tonal shift affected costuming decisions?

 The color palette for the promo shoot was definitely different! All of the characters are going through major emotional struggles this season so we wanted that to be reflected in the clothing.

Maurissa Tancharoen is quoted as once stating, that when writing Epitaph One, Jed Whedon was responsible for writing the 2019 ’lingo’. A lot can happen fashion-wise in a decade. How did this future time-shift influence the wardrobe decisions?

 The wardrobe was influenced by the apocalyptic element of the episode. It was about surviving. They were all essentially refugees so the clothing needed to be very practical.

UnimpressedAgain, in Epitaph One; whilst Mr. Ambrose is admiting his evil scheme to Adele in the kitchen, Topher stands silently by, dressed in an abominable lurid green jacket. Please reassure us you expect this to be a quickly passing fashion fad, like Leg-Warmers or Ninja Turtles?!

 First of all leg warmers and Ninja Turtles... both are awesome! I still wear leg warmers! However, let it be known that Shawna never intended for that jacket to go on camera. It was something that should never have happened and it will never be seen again. She apologizes for any confusion and wants everyone to rest assured that if it is up to her, it will not be a trend... hopefully EVER!

In the Charles Dickens novel ’Great Expectations’, Miss Havisham lives out her days in a beautiful crumbling mansion, never changing out of the Wedding Gown she was jilted in. When Whiskey is found alone in Epitaph One, she too is dressed in a beautiful white gown. It was such a striking and haunting "echo" of Miss Hanisham. Was she the inspiration for Whiskeys gown? Or was it merely a spooky coincidence?

 I am going to have to plead the 5th on this one. All I know is that a dreamy but tattered gown is what was requested but we were not told why. It could be a coincidence but then again it could have been planned...

What was your reaction to discovering that FOX had renewed Dollhouse for a second Season?

 Cool! Does this mean I have a job?

How have each of the casts styles evolved from Season One to Season Two? How has the evolution of each character been reflected in the wardrobe?

 Like I said in the question about the promo shoot, all of the characters are going through major emotional struggles this season. Shawna wants that to be reflected in the clothing. Season 1 was very skimpy and sexy, season 2 is still sexy its just not as blatantly skinful!

MUSIC!

So many of Actors / Actresses from the Whedonverse are great singers. Which would you happily sing a duet with, on your next album?

 Neil Patrick Harris... Looooove him!

When can we expect to hear an Alana Stone tune scoring the traditional ’WhedonBrand Moving-Closing-Montage-Shots’ of a Dollhouse episode?

 My fingers are crossed! I can only pray that will happen one day soon.

If you could chose any of your songs to appear on the show, which would you pick, and why?

 Ooooo "Burn" or "Not Good Enough"?

(Ed: LA Dollhouse is officially rather in love wih’ ’Burn’. FACT!)

I wish I lived in LA so I could go to one of your gigs. Any chance you’ll make a visit to Miami sometime? (Variations upon this question applied, pretty much on a world-wide scale.)

 Awww It is my dream to be able to tour to any place where my presence is desired! It will happen! Join my mailing list on my website (Ed: It’s on the ’Stuff’ page) and send me a request... if I get enough... who knows!

I live in the UK, but can’t buy or download any of your music! (sob) Are you planning on releasing anything internationally?

 I am trying, as we speak to get at least "On My Own" on iTunes for download. Hopefully, I will get my act together. lol