Abbott Elementary hair stylist Moira Frazier’s passion for hair styling is apparent in the way she talks about her work on ABC’s Abbott Elementary. Four seasons in, and she’s still challenged with exciting creative opportunities as evidenced by her third Emmy nomination for the series. This season brought a glam-ma look for one of the most dignified characters on the show, making granny wigs for several children, and her first ever guinea pig wig setting. Here, in an interview with The Contending, Frazier shares details about her creative process and more on Abbott Elementary.
The Contending: In the episode “Glam-ma” with Barbara trying to look younger, you put a white stripe in her hair. What was the thought process on creating that look, and what was your discussion with wardrobe about it?
Moira Frazier: Here’s the thing. When you’re doing a Glam-ma bit like we did in this episode, in our culture (I come from the salon world) you always get older women who come from the life, who come to the salon in Baby Phat jeans and Tommy Hilfiger. That is just what the look is, so we wanted Barbara to have that edge with it. But, because we still needed her to be Barbara in all of her dignity, and she is such a strong character on the show, we wanted to give a little bit of edginess. So that’s why we went with that platinum blonde, and it did the exact job it needed to do. While she was still Barbara.
The Contending: In that same episode you have tons of kids in granny wigs. What was that like putting together?
Moira Frazier: We had kids not wanting to wear wigs and it became a whole thing, but it was a very fun episode. I have to shout out local 706, who is a part of my union, and I had to shout out all of those artists who were able to think on the fly and turn all of those kids into grannies for the hundred day episode. I’m telling you I went to a lot of beauty supply stores and bought up a lot of their gray hair. We made pieces, we made afros, we made all of the things to sell this particular look and make it as realistic as possible.
The Contending: I read you had to create a wig for Sweet Cheeks, the guinea pig.
Moira Frazier: Let me tell you something, that was the first time I ever had to make a wig for an animal. The first time I had to do a fitting for an animal, the guinea pig needed to get a whole fitting. It was the first of everything. I even made a wig for a doll lookalike for the winter episode when Ava puts a doll on top of the tree. That was actually Janelle’s hair! So this season was the first time for a lot of things but I love a challenge.
The Contending: Speaking of Ava, her hairstyles are a major part of her character. For this season was there anything in particular that stood out?
Moira Frazier: This particular season Ava is getting to the moment where she’s taking her role as a principal seriously. Because of that we still wanted to give her that bouffant Ava vibe, where she’s that girl from around the way. But still taking her job seriously, as well as being influenced by this new love interest. That’s why we went with that ombre color, because it still gave off an Ava vibe but with more subtleness We see a soft side of her trying to open up her heart to her love interest and also to her dad. Ava’s character has such a hard exterior but this season we get to take a little peek into that, and we did that with the color.
SHERYL LEE RALPH
The Contending: Her boyfriend and her father were two of the bigger recurring characters this season. Was there anything in particular you had to do with them?
Moira Frazier: We kept O’shan tight and right because he was such a pivotal character in the show this season. We wanted him to be that particular symbol that Ava would be attracted to. So he had to be a very clean cut IT guy but not your typical IT guy. It was everything that Ava wanted in this season of the show. Ava’s father was almost always wearing hats, but we kept him very clean underneath. So he could stand out and exert his dominance on the show as well.
The Contending: We get to see more of Melissa’s family and they keep up with the style we expect from this family. What was it like creating their looks?
Moira Frazier: That was such a fun episode to do because we got to flex our mob wives’ skills. That was the vibe for the entire episode. My hair stylist Dustin Osborne does a great job coloring Lisa (Ann Walter)’s hair and giving it that signature ginger spice. This episode we get to see the spice in her family. We went with that glam mob wife mentality, think the Godfather and The Sopranos. Even the guys had that mob look, especially My Cousin Vinny. That was the vibe we were going for and I think my team and I nailed it.
The Contending: Going back to Barbara, I read that you were able to keep a wig on her head that was doused in water without using any wig glue. How did you do that?
Moira Frazier: Baby, let me tell you something, that was a trick of the trade! I can’t release all my secrets but I will say I was able to pin it down in all the right spots. I probably used about 50 pins to make sure that it was undetectable to the camera . That was a good challenge to have!
The Contending: This has become a tradition each season of having a Halloween episode with all their different costumes. What was it like this season?
Moira Frazier: This season we did Blade for Ava! Naturally I wanted to do this super long glamorous Blade, but you have to remember Ava is a nerd so she stays true to the character she is portraying. That’s why everyone loves her. She can be glamorous one moment when she’s in her Ava nature, but once she switches to the character she’s playing for Halloween she goes all the way in! Janelle can carry any look we put on her.
The Contending: You have been with the show since the beginning, and I can see from the way you are talking about it that it still gives you lots of challenges and is just overall fun. What has it been like being with the show this long?
Moira Frazier: It has been like family. It is so rare to have a show that has such chemistry among cast and crew. I am just thankful every single day that I’m able to come to work and do the thing that I love. My team and I are so grateful to be able to come to work and tell stories through hair. I think it becomes a lost art when people are so gung-ho about work work work work and not putting the passion behind it. So with us you can see that passion come across the screen. We love to do what we do!
The Contending: Final thoughts?
Moira Frazier: Whether you’re a hair stylist, makeup artist, costume designer, or just in the business, I want to remind you to never ever give up on your dreams. Because one call can literally change your life and you just have to hold on to the e
