costume in theatre
by angelica 9H
introduction
Costume is what the actors wear onstage. This can have a huge visual impact, as well as alerting the audience to character, place and the period of history in which the play is set. Choice of costume will vary according to the demands of the play.
the team
everything about the team that makes the costumes.
WOrking in costume
what do you do when you work in the costume department?
MORE
THE TEAM
costume making and maintaining takes a lot of effort and people, since not only do you have to make nice looking costumes, you also have to make sure if anything happens to them it's fixed, and fast. As we saw on the video for the costume production in wicked, they have a team of 12 people who do day jobs 4 and 8 at a time. There's also a lot of trial and error, since the actor in the costume must fit into it and actually like the outfit. Like with makeup, the actor needs to be comfortable in the outfit and makeup to be able to focus and do the best acting they can, so it's a very faulty process.
working in costume
costume is a fun but tedious job - you have to have a vision for what you want the characters to wear and look like, which can cause some disrupts if your team doesn't agree, and the actual process of making the costume is long and most likely hard, probably having to restart a lot, making sure every little bead or pin or lace is in the exact right spot, making sure it fits the actor, and repeat for every costume you make. On the other hand, it probably feels very rewarding when you see your creation being worn on stage.
extra information
CONNECTION WITH THE ACTOR(S)
as a designer, you have to form a trusting connection with your project to be able to get the most out of your job and keep everyone happy. This means interacting and listening to their ideas aswell as telling them your own and listen to any feedback they give you. If they don't like the costume or don't feel comfortable in it, they probably wont do as well as they could when acting.
(more coming soon)