The Back Stage Pages

Costumes and Wardrobe

There is nothing as exciting as getting a new play script and seeing what challenges it presents for the wardrobe mistress. Of course, after that initial feeling panic sets in, when you realise that you have to find some obscure garment or make a dozen matching items for the chorus of the pantomime!

There are several things to be considered when you read the script:

1. Time of day

2. Time of year

3. What period is the play set in?

4. Age of characters

5. Colour scheme, possibly

6. Are there any quick changes?

I then make a costume sheet for all of the characters and enter the actor’s measurements and requirements.

The first port of call is the existing Drama wardrobe, which is located in the loft of the Village Hall. This entails scaling a ladder and climbing in and then battling through the props and flats that have been left there by the set builders! We have several rails and lots of boxes of costumes and many a happy morning has been spent raking through them to find anything useful. I always consider whether a garment can be altered or cut up to make what is required. Any thing from the loft will need washing and pressing because of the dust and damp!

Next I visit Charity Shops. It’s amazing what you can find but, again, you have to be able to visualise whether a garment can be changed in any way, for instance old Laura Ashley blouses are very useful for Victorian or Edwardian plays. For anything really tricky I might visit the Retro shop and get original items, but this can work out expensive. For period costumes hiring from a Theatre is another way of finding what is required.

If all of this fails I then have to make things from scratch. I usually enlist helpers, ignoring pleas of, “I can’t sew.”

Hair is often a problem, especially for a period play. It is difficult to find a good wig without paying a fortune. We often have to make do with a cheap one from the joke shop and dress it up as best we can. Getting the correct shoes or boots can also cause problems; you just have to do the best you can.

The hardest work, by far, is the pantomime, which we put on every February. I like the Dame to have a different costume every time he comes on. I try to link the dress with whatever is happening in the scene and then make it as ridiculous as I can.

Apart from the Dame some of the characters can be a challenge for the wardrobe mistress. For instance, in “Little Red Riding Hood” we had three pigs but instead of making basic pig costumes I made them wear pink tops, padded, pink breeches and pink bobble hats. I wasn’t very popular!

Back stage during a pantomime can be chaos, if you’re not careful, because of the large cast and the huge amount of costumes. I hang them on rails and label them but that usually soon goes to pot when costumes are cast aside during a quick change, so helpers back stage are essential. I note the costume changes in the script and, also, give members of the cast a copy of their costume changes, so hopefully, every one knows what is expected. At the end of a production everything is washed and put back in the loft and we all have a well earned rest. Until the next time...