Costuming a staged performance

Costuming a Staged Performance

Introduction

Costuming can be a great tool of enhancing a performance. The following guidance is just that and the team who organise a production are responsible for deciding what, if any costuming is appropriate. Generally there are four main points to always consider:

a)      Costumes should be appropriate to the item within the show.

b)      Costumes should fit each person well, with care taken over measurements and manufacture.

c)      Costumes should be ironed and maintained for the run of the show, as should all appropriate accessories.

d)      Costumes should be a credit to the Movement ­and should give any possible cause embarrassment to the artists or the audience.

Further points

Ideally everyone would prefer to  keep their own costumes, but before you rush off to do so, consider the following:

• Look around and see if you can borrow or hire costumes from another show, or a hire shop.  If you can't, then make your own.  If you make your own, it is best to make them out of the highest standard possible using good material. This way you will enhance your performance, use these or adapted versions at future performances and, as an added bonus, possibly be able to hire them out and thus get a return on your investment.

Consider:

• Do you have suitably skilled people that can put the costumes together?
• Do you have good storage facilities free from damp and rodents, with reasonable access and good insurance cover?
• Will somebody take on the job of looking after the hiring out of costumes on your behalf? (It should be the responsibility of one person who will not allow everyone to have free access.)
•  In the long run it is not worth using cheap fabrics as they do not wash very well and soon end up looking very shabby.
• Specialist costumes such as period, animals, uniforms and so on, are not easy to make and certain fabrics can be very expensive. Therefore it would be better to consider hiring these.  You should be able to get quality costumes at reasonable prices and the price should include a laundering service.  You may only use a specialist costume once, so consider carefully before manufacturing one yourself.
• Hiring from other performance groups is not usually expensive, but if you want to continue to use this service then you should always return costumes promptly, clean and ironed.  Also remember to remove all your identification labels and undo any alterations and so on, which you've undertaken.  This will be greatly appreciated and assure you of future use.
• Ensure that insurance covers all costumes, both your own and those hired.  You need to be covered for every eventuality - a pre-show fire could result in the need for professional help to allow the performance to go on.
• Consider all the costumes that you manufacture as an investment and show them as an asset on the annual accounts balance sheet.
• Try to avoid getting the cast bringing in their own clothes from home for items as they can get lost or even stolen, and the ensuing fuss 'kicked up' isn't worth it.  Many items can often be obtained from jumble sales or charity shops - thus avoiding a fashion competition between cast members.
• Measuring - chest, hips, waist, inside leg, arm to neck and neck to bottom.  When manufacturing trousers or skirts add an extra 10 cm (four inches) onto hip measure­ments for full freedom of movement.  For shirts and blouses also allow extra arm hole width as strenuous movement will soon split tight arm hole,-.  Allow extra length on the bodies of costumes if they are to be tucked in, if they are not, then cut costumes so they all sit at about the same place.  Don't have some covering backsides whilst others expose midriff.
• Extra consideration should be paid to larger cast members’ costumes which should be cut accordingly.
• Where T-shirts are concerned, add 10 cm (four inches) to a child's chest measurement and 15 cm to an adult's.  This will give a good fit for the stage though not necessarily in the fashion stakes.

Finale

Traditionally staged performances have, by custom and tradition, ended in full uniform, these days some shows end in this manner, whilst others choose not to.

Performance week

Below are some top tips for organizing costuming of a performance:

• Always have two dressers in attendance for each separate dressing room used.
• Provide each dresser with:
• A running order with a list of the costumes used in each item, with indications for footwear, hats, wigs and so on;
•  A cover to go over cast members' heads to avoid make-up getting smudged or onto costumes.
• Provide one coat-hanger per person for every item they are in.  Put a name and number plus the item it's used for on each one.
• Have a separate collection point for wigs and hats, it saves on cluttering the dressing space up and stops hats getting crushed and so on.
• Make sure that all borrowed costumes are labelled with the owner's name.
• On the last night make sure you have plenty of storage boxes available to carefully pack all the costumes, items and accessories into when they are all finished with.
• Allocate costumes to people for washing - ideally by grouping same coloured garments together and so on, rather than by item.  Make a list of who has what and chase them up on their progress to get them returned promptly.