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A Semester of Wardrobe:
             3 Shows & 3 Approaches

by Anastasia Goodwin

    Production planning in university theatres is no small task. When it comes to creating a working plan and schedule for costume shops, one is inevitably faced with that all-important question: when is first dress? There seem to be two schools of thought on the possible answer. Some programs have a pre-determined schedule, in which first tech always comes a set number of days before opening and first dress happens at the same time (programs do differ on whether or not first tech and first dress happen on the same day). Others approach each show individually, with the tech/dress schedule finalized after the design process is well underway.  While there are definitely certain advantages to working in a set schedule environment, I find myself greatly appreciating the ability to tailor the process to the specific needs of each show. In this article I will describe three different approaches used to set up a consistent and efficient wardrobe process that allowed students to take ownership of running the show backstage with no need for additional faculty oversight by opening night. Each of the approaches was dictated by production concerns and limitations, student experience needs, and above all, show needs.
    When choosing seasons, most undergraduate theatre departments strive to provide students with a variety of possible experiences. This applies to backstage work opportunities as well as dramaturgical and performance styles. In the Fall of 2018, students at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota had the chance to experience three shows whose styles could hardly be more distinct: Proof by D. Auburn, Romeo and Juliet by W. Shakespeare, and P. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with original choreography by Tammy Schmidt.

Proof  by D. Auburn
    Proof is a contemporary play with a performance style often described as naturalism, or “film-like realism”. However, the nine scenes are presented out of chronological order, and costumes become the first and very important clue for the audience trying to make sense of the show’s timeline. Our production updated the script from the early 2000s to today.  This was a fun design experience, but it brought with it a few additional challenges. After all, we know exactly what today’s clothing looks like and how it behaves, and we have real, if sometimes subconscious, expectations that they will be changed at the start of each new day. Add to that a necessity of a few hairstyle changes, and it becomes apparent that this four-actor show is quite complicated from a wardrobe point of view. For our production, an additional challenge was the small black box performance space, where the audience was close enough to touch the costumes. This made some common quick-change tricks, such as underdressing or quick-rigging problematic.
    All these factors combined, the show clearly called for a small crew of students who were quick learners, good workers, and had experience backstage. My crew consisted of four students, including a wardrobe manager. Three of the students had assignments as dressers in previous shows at St. Mary’s.  The quick changes had to be choreographed as if they were dance numbers, with every motion, step, and occasional arm movement carefully planned. We assigned two dressers to each quick change and rehearsed them with our actors outside of tech for thirty minutes to an hour each. Our final change time was then given to stage management as a starting point to build transitions. For a show like Proof, tech rehearsal truly couldn’t happen without costumes, because costume, lighting, and sound shifts had to be worked in unison and run in real time. It made sense to hold our first tech and dress rehearsals at the same time. By maximizing the time actors and crew could work together we assured that by opening night everything – and everyone – was always at the right place at the right time.

Romeo and Juliet  by W. Shakespeare
    Romeo and Juliet is an entirely different show, and so the backstage experience for the wardrobe crew was quite different as well. The design was a blend of contemporary and Italian Renaissance styles (think doublets and converse shoes). R&J backstageThe cast was almost 6 times that of Proof (there were 23 actors).  A multitude of smaller roles were assigned to ensemble performers, and some of the leads had changes between scenes to help tell the story.  Many aspects of the show called for a larger crew:  1) It was performed in our mainstage proscenium theatre with ample backstage spaces, 2) laundry and maintenance required more hands on deck, and 3) the sheer number of garments and accessories to track could become quite daunting. At the same time, I felt that this was a good show for our incoming freshmen with an interest in costumes to get involved with and learn from some of their R&J Racksmore experienced peers. We had a crew of ten.  For seven of the students, this was their first show in college. Each dresser was assigned two or three actors to follow and take care of, making sure that their changes happened smoothly and that everything they needed was in place. Only two of the production costume changes could be described as true quick changes (under 30 seconds). These were rehearsed ahead of time, with additional dressers recruited from those whose assigned actors didn’t have anything that needed attention at the time.
    For Romeo and Juliet, first dress rehearsal was scheduled to take place the day after first tech. With a large-scale build, having an extra day in the shop can be quite helpful, and at the same time, it gives the actors a chance to work with scenery and lighting (to figure out feats such as climbing stairs and hopping walls in near darkness) before adding the complications of costumes. Nevertheless, all wardrobe crew was called on first tech to complete a full day of comprehensive training. They got a chance to see and touch each of the pieces they would be responsible for, familiarize themselves with paperwork and the laundry process, get trained on maintenance and repairs, and meet with stage management and other running crew members to finalize presets and backstage procedures. And though first dress didn’t officially start until the next day, the knowledge that everyone was in the building working hard toward a common goal helped all students involved develop a sense of togetherness and camaraderie. This feeling of company and community, in turn, made for a smoother run of a large and challenging piece.

The Nutcracker    P. Tchaikovsky
    The final show of the semester, The Nutcracker, is a biannual co-production of our department with the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA). Costumes largely existed from previous productions, with some additional builds and purchases filling out the racks. NutcrackerThe performers included university students as well as MCA Dance students ranging in age from elementary school to university professors and older community members. Due to the nature of this tricky rehearsal process, most internal costume changes were handled by the dancers themselves, and the role of student wardrobe crew became largely that of preparation and maintenance. This was our smallest crew and it consisted of two students. Neither had worked with dance costumes before, so this production was a crash course in tutu steaming, hook-and-bar fixes just before curtain, and ballet bun hair-styling. Dancer calls were staggered to accommodate a cast of more than 70 in a makeup room designed for 20, and the wardrobe crew had to navigate among children of various age groups, students, adults, and parent volunteers. They began prepping the costumes the same day that tech began, with dancers only using key pieces in rehearsal. After that, they steamed and touched up certain costumes on alternating days – a necessity on a ballet with over 30 tutus, all of which had to look gorgeous at every performance. But the most valuable part of the experience, as stated by student dresser Casper Pichotta, was “being able to work with a different company to see how other places operate in their productions.”
    Casper’s feedback is valuable to me as instructor, because he was involved in every production as a dresser. This is Casper’s first year at R&J CrewSaint Mary’s as a Technical Theatre student with a Costume emphasis, and though he had some prior costuming experience, most of it was with builds rather than wardrobe. Casper greatly enjoyed the close-knit nature of running “Proof”, as well as the hustle and bustle of “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Nutcracker”. “My confidence has grown tremendously and in countless ways,” Casper says, “I feel like I can hold my own backstage as I start to feel more comfortable with my abilities,” – words that any teacher wants to hear from a student at the end of the semester.
    In theatres big, small, and educational, each show is always a unique experience backstage. My goal this semester was to create wardrobe processes that were flexible to accommodate each show’s specific needs, yet clear and consistent enough to allow students to build upon their knowledge from previous experiences. I consider Proof, Romeo and Juliet, and The Nutcracker to be successful in that endeavor, and I look forward to developing even better systems for shows to come [ ]

Anastasia Goodwin is the Costume Designer and Costume Shop Manager at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (Winona)

 


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