MAR
8

Going the Extra Mile with Costumes

By Mike Steele 

Mike Steele has been writing and directing as far back as he can remember.  He spent the bulk of his teenage years performing in school and community theatre productions and continued to act through college while he completed a BS in elementary education and sociology.  Mike directs school and community theatre productions and teaches cooperative drama workshops, a process in which he incorporates writing into the creative process.   

Ever notice your students’ energy increases tenfold during the first costume rehearsal?  It’s not surprising.  After weeks and weeks of practicing in everyday clothes, the students finally get to inhabit the skins of their characters and live in the world of the play.  It’s a thrilling moment for performers and really speaks of the value costumes hold to a production.  When your students look their finest, they perform their finest.  Looking at it from a different perspective, we also know that an impressive costume can even help mask the skills of a student actor who’s not quite ready for Broadway.

So don’t skimp in the costume department!  Costuming a show can be an overwhelming task, and it may be tempting to settle on pieces that simply “work,” but a little extra effort can really showcase your students at their finest.  Here are some ideas to really wow with costumes without busting your budget.

A good fit goes a long way.  Got a costume closet filled with donations or old thrift store finds?  You probably have plenty of pieces to work with, but chances are they’re not going to fit many of your students.  Dad’s old suit is probably wider around the waist than the freshman you cast as the sleek businessman.  When a baggy costume hangs off of a performer, he looks and feels like a kid pretending to be an adult.  Help lift the performances to a new level by ensuring that your actors are wearing pieces fitted to their individual sizes.

If you’ve got an experienced tailor as your costumer, that’s great, but even someone with novice sewing skills can alter clothing in ways that will work for the stage.  Hem tape is inexpensive and takes only a few minutes to apply to pant legs.  A few beads of hot glue or even clips on the waist of a gown can turn a size 12 into a size 6 – just be sure to hide the quick fix with a sash or ribbon.  Keep in mind that your tailoring only needs to last a few performances and seams in non-traditional parts of clothing (such as down the back of a suit jacket) are barely visible from the audience.

Bust out the iron.  You know what looks better than a well-fitted costume?  A well-pressed costume!  Trouser creases will fall out after half a dozen rehearsals, and any pair of pants not hung properly will inevitably see some new creases added to the mix.  Don’t let shirt collars flap up or skirts look wrinkly.  Freshly iron the costumes before each performance so your students look and feel as dapper every single time they step onstage as they felt on opening night.

Ironing each costume is going to take some time, and if you have more than a handful of performers in the show, your costumer will need assistance.  This is the perfect opportunity to utilize all those parents who are eager to help out but admittedly have no artistic skills.  Just ask five or six volunteers to bring their own irons and ironing boards backstage a few hours before call-time and let them fill the dressing rooms with steam as they brag about their children’s performances.  A little odor eliminating spray won’t hurt, either.

Stick to a vision.  Think of costuming your show as creating a painting onstage.  The color pallet you present is something your audience will view for the entire performance, so consider each costume choice carefully.  Maybe you want all of your performers in a specific set of colors like black, white, and gray.  Maybe you want to present a rainbow of colorful characters.  Or have each group of characters identified by their color scheme as much as their style of clothing, e.g.  the city folk in reds and purples vs. the country folk in earth tones.  Maybe you even want to avoid certain colors.  Keep in mind the season in which the play is set, and what colors and styles people tend to wear or avoid during that time of year.

Study up on the symbolism behind colors.  Do some research on costuming to learn more about how costumes represent characters, and then discuss with your costumer what color and style you envision for each individual character.  The more cohesive your costume vision, the more unified your performers will look and feel.

Details, details, details.  They say accessories can make or break an outfit, and there’s no exception when it comes to costumes.  Your students can fully embody their characters when dressed from head to toe.  So don’t stop at basic clothing pieces; fully dress your actors.  Think of specific accessories the characters might wear – like tiaras, glasses, necklaces, gloves, boas, bracelets, rings, scarves, belts...  the list could go on and on.  You don’t have to spend a fortune, either.  Many of your students will own accessories that fit, and thrift shops are also loaded with possibilities.  If you really want to go over the top, you can embellish accessories for the stage.  Attach feathers onto hats, glue large sequins onto jewelry, add a stripe of glitter onto a belt, etc.

Also, don’t forget to explain to your performers how to appropriately handle unfamiliar accessories.  A person wouldn’t typically sit at a dinner table in an overcoat, wear a hat indoors, or throw a stole onto a table, and your students may need to research and practice utilizing these pieces appropriately.

Treat the costumes with value.  Stress the importance that costumes hold to a theatrical production and show your students how to care for the items.  Provide each student with a list of his or her individual costume pieces and accessories so every performer knows what he or she is responsible to turn in at the end of the run.  Affix zippered plastic bags to hangers so accessories can hang with costumes, and protect delicate clothing in garment bags.  Organize a clothing rack with dividers so each student knows where to find his or her costume before the performance and where to return the items before leaving.

Fitted, pressed, thought out, and accessorized — these are keys to ensure your students value their costumes.  This starts a wonderful cycle, for when your students value their costumes, they perform to their fullest.  In doing so, the costumes add considerable value to the entire production.  They might be a lot of work, but they’re definitely worth it!