Adventures with Theater Work
In 2017, I started doing side-work at a school theater. I like it. It’s a beautiful campus, easy work schedule, decent budget. Theater is a bit easier than film costume. Most of the costumes are bought or found, some are rented, and whatever is left, we make. My specialty. So this is a special album of some cool things I’ve made for shows.
I’ve been doing semi-professional costume work for over a decade. Nothing majorly noteworthy. A few student films, a pilot, some productions, 1 indie film, 100 cosplay costumes. But live theater is a whole new sport.
My most reliable mentor was the wife of a co-worker, a Renaissance Faire guild organizer. We met because she needed some sewing help for a theater show. Afterward, I said I was available to do other costume things for her, and here we are. She’s been doing theater for 30 years. She also let slip that she’s planning on retiring and moving away, which is why she wanted to introduce me to her theater people. So I might’ve just accidentally landed a steady weekend job doing theater wardrobe.
This happened at a perfect time too. Lately, I’ve been feeling down about my day-time job because it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. But with this on the table, maybe I’ll get back to Plan A.
My first significant theater costume job was Shrek: The Musical. I made from scratch: Dragon & dragonettes, The Greeter head, all the guards tabards, and Shrek’s hero helmet. Lots of accessories were bought [Halloween store quality], and several found outfits needed alterations.
I’ve been doing semi-professional costume work for over a decade. Nothing majorly noteworthy. A few student films, a pilot, some productions, 1 indie film, 100 cosplay costumes. But live theater is a whole new sport.
My most reliable mentor was the wife of a co-worker, a Renaissance Faire guild organizer. We met because she needed some sewing help for a theater show. Afterward, I said I was available to do other costume things for her, and here we are. She’s been doing theater for 30 years. She also let slip that she’s planning on retiring and moving away, which is why she wanted to introduce me to her theater people. So I might’ve just accidentally landed a steady weekend job doing theater wardrobe.
This happened at a perfect time too. Lately, I’ve been feeling down about my day-time job because it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. But with this on the table, maybe I’ll get back to Plan A.
My first significant theater costume job was Shrek: The Musical. I made from scratch: Dragon & dragonettes, The Greeter head, all the guards tabards, and Shrek’s hero helmet. Lots of accessories were bought [Halloween store quality], and several found outfits needed alterations.
Most normal people don’t realize that wardrobe is an expensive department. Custom-made costumes are a massive feat; very laborious and resource intensive, and they wear out quickly. Lots of things are too specific to be reused, or end up too damaged to be useful. Because of this entry-cost, local theaters share with each other, renting out specialized pieces, repairing as they go.
The first week was a jumble of organizational issues. Lists of actors and sizes, their characters, and what pieces we need to buy/find/modify. But after that, most of my time was spent making sure the actors were correctly wearing their costumes. The sheer size of the cast made it difficult. I had never considered that so many people would have so much trouble getting dressed night-after-night. I had a few difficult actors who insisted on face-paint [because they didn’t like wearing the mask], but didn’t know how to apply it, and then got it all over their costumes. And some other actors who scarcely noticed when their costume was on backwards or disheveled. After the show, the costume check-in went as smoothly as could be expected. A few loads of laundry, and a trip to the dry cleaners later, the show was all done. I’m prepared to say that theater costuming is more about keeping organized, than it is about detailed/glamorous costumes. I’m glad this type of work pays, even if it’s not a lot. Because it adds a level of legitimacy to my hobby. I’m not just a hobby cosplayer, I’m a real theater costumer. Photos below: Shrek The Musical. 2017 |
Photos below: The Good Person From Setzuan. I made the water jug prop for the narrator character: Wang the water seller. 2017
Photos below: Legally Blonde the Musical. 2017.
I sewed on the prison numbers onto the inmate outfits. Made a few uniform patches for Kyle the UPS guy. And I heavily modified a dress to be Elle’s tear-away dress, as well as a faux skirt for a different quick change. But I didn't really make a lot for this show.
The graduation robes were annoyingly difficult to get [and because of the quantity, they became the most expensive ‘superfluous accessory’ in the show’s wardrobe]. Another annoy thing was the half dozen side characters which were only in 1 scene. But overall, this was a easy show to do wardrobe for.
I sewed on the prison numbers onto the inmate outfits. Made a few uniform patches for Kyle the UPS guy. And I heavily modified a dress to be Elle’s tear-away dress, as well as a faux skirt for a different quick change. But I didn't really make a lot for this show.
The graduation robes were annoyingly difficult to get [and because of the quantity, they became the most expensive ‘superfluous accessory’ in the show’s wardrobe]. Another annoy thing was the half dozen side characters which were only in 1 scene. But overall, this was a easy show to do wardrobe for.
Photos Below: The Crucible. 2017.
We didn’t make hardly anything for this show. The director was difficult to predict, and kept going to rent things from other theaters. We purchased uniforms for the girls, grey tops and pleated skirts, and some outfits for the lead. Most of the day dresses, cop uniforms, and night gowns we pulled from the basement. And almost everything else was rented; the judge robes, the old man sweaters, nurse uniform.
We did spent a serious amount of time distressing the prison scrubs, the lighting was so aggressive that we had to sponge paint them with brown to get anything to show up [the beige wasn’t even visible].
We didn’t make hardly anything for this show. The director was difficult to predict, and kept going to rent things from other theaters. We purchased uniforms for the girls, grey tops and pleated skirts, and some outfits for the lead. Most of the day dresses, cop uniforms, and night gowns we pulled from the basement. And almost everything else was rented; the judge robes, the old man sweaters, nurse uniform.
We did spent a serious amount of time distressing the prison scrubs, the lighting was so aggressive that we had to sponge paint them with brown to get anything to show up [the beige wasn’t even visible].
Photos Below: Lion King Jr. 2017.
We made several pieces for this show. The main characters were all from scratch: the Lions and Lionesses. They all got collars and hats, the boys got skirts which matched the girls tops, some cuffs, veils, ect, we made them all in the shop [there’s a lot of Velcro in those outfits]. I’m really proud of the hats, most of them are built on top of baseball caps. Lions, Pumba, Zazu, Rafiki, I made all those hats. They all basically have little masks on their heads.
The hyenas wore grey sweats that we painted black spots on, and then we attached ears and mohawks.
I attached horns to the bison hats, and made their fur caplets. Painted the stripes onto the shirts for gazelles, and bought the horns. Most of the miscellaneous animals we found material for in the basement; parts of the birds [we built the masks], parts of the monkeys [bought the hats, added the belly], parts of zebra [painted some sweaters], ect.
I also made those giraffes. Big foam heads on top of cone tents. They were really nice. I’m really humble about the costumes for the young ones, because I’m almost certain that it’s only impressive because of the total quantity. It was really a large cast, 70+ actors.
We made several pieces for this show. The main characters were all from scratch: the Lions and Lionesses. They all got collars and hats, the boys got skirts which matched the girls tops, some cuffs, veils, ect, we made them all in the shop [there’s a lot of Velcro in those outfits]. I’m really proud of the hats, most of them are built on top of baseball caps. Lions, Pumba, Zazu, Rafiki, I made all those hats. They all basically have little masks on their heads.
The hyenas wore grey sweats that we painted black spots on, and then we attached ears and mohawks.
I attached horns to the bison hats, and made their fur caplets. Painted the stripes onto the shirts for gazelles, and bought the horns. Most of the miscellaneous animals we found material for in the basement; parts of the birds [we built the masks], parts of the monkeys [bought the hats, added the belly], parts of zebra [painted some sweaters], ect.
I also made those giraffes. Big foam heads on top of cone tents. They were really nice. I’m really humble about the costumes for the young ones, because I’m almost certain that it’s only impressive because of the total quantity. It was really a large cast, 70+ actors.
Photos Below: Peter and the Starcatcher. 2018.
This is my first time doing adult theater, instead of youth; South Bay Musical Theatre. I made all 12 of the mermaid skirts for the comedy song Mermaid Outta Me. I was a little disappointed when I realized they were only used in 1 scene. They're silky fabric with rhinestone ribbon as scales.
This is my first time doing adult theater, instead of youth; South Bay Musical Theatre. I made all 12 of the mermaid skirts for the comedy song Mermaid Outta Me. I was a little disappointed when I realized they were only used in 1 scene. They're silky fabric with rhinestone ribbon as scales.
Photos Below: Superhero Ultraferno. 2018.
This show involved dozens of deliberately low-quality superhero costumes, for basically 1 scene of witty banter each. There's approximately 80 characters in this play [nearly every superhero in comic history: X-Men, Fantastic4, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, WonderWoman, Avengers, Wolverine, Dr.Strange, Aquaman, ect]. So I had to make some of the characters that aren’t famous enough to be cheaply sold online [or had graphic t-shirts available of that particular comic character].
Some of the things I made : Electro – foam mask, felt design on a shirt. Doctor Octopus – pool noodles on the back of a trench coat. Professor X – hacked up a baseball helmet. Green Goblin – painted a ghoul mask. Jor’el and Lara – made matching red tabards with tie belt. Doctor Doom – modified a zombie mask.
This show involved dozens of deliberately low-quality superhero costumes, for basically 1 scene of witty banter each. There's approximately 80 characters in this play [nearly every superhero in comic history: X-Men, Fantastic4, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, WonderWoman, Avengers, Wolverine, Dr.Strange, Aquaman, ect]. So I had to make some of the characters that aren’t famous enough to be cheaply sold online [or had graphic t-shirts available of that particular comic character].
Some of the things I made : Electro – foam mask, felt design on a shirt. Doctor Octopus – pool noodles on the back of a trench coat. Professor X – hacked up a baseball helmet. Green Goblin – painted a ghoul mask. Jor’el and Lara – made matching red tabards with tie belt. Doctor Doom – modified a zombie mask.
Photos Below: Young Frankenstein.
There’s a ridiculous number of quick changes in this show for the main character, Fredrick. Who only has time to change his jacket in between scenes, since he’s in nearly every scene he can’t ever leave the stage area. Lab coat to suit jacket, to travel coat, to smoker jacket, to mad scientist coat, to no jacket, to lab coat, to tux, and back. It was roughly that way for all the cast also; towns people in scene1, to lab coats in scene2, to travelers in scene3, and back to townspeople.
The ladies German dirndl dresses are so cute; black skirt, white sleeved, petticoat, apron, flower crown. Inga’s was little bit fancier than the others. I built some of Frau’s outfit, the grey shirt with the ribbon designs. Elizabeth had a few furs and sexy glamorous outfits. And everyone had a flashy Ritz tap-dancing outfit.
The officer Kemp was a real challenge; military style jacket and hat, sash, metals, fake hand, peg leg, eye patch, cape.
A few extra characters; entourage maids, werewolf, vampire, undertaker, telegraph boy, assorted travelers, priest, horses, ghost ancestors.
We cleaned the Monsters and Frankenstein’s white shirts every night because it always got green facepaint on it.
The stage set was spectacular. Spinning bookcases, laboratory table that raises and lowers, castle door, village buildings, fireplace, stairs, flickering candle fixtures.
I made 7 Igor hoods for the set crew to wear, and a few aprons. We tailored a few dresses, bought some other pieces, built some, and rented a chunk of the main character outfits from a diff theater: the monsters brown suit, Igors outfit, the towns womens folk dresses.
There’s a ridiculous number of quick changes in this show for the main character, Fredrick. Who only has time to change his jacket in between scenes, since he’s in nearly every scene he can’t ever leave the stage area. Lab coat to suit jacket, to travel coat, to smoker jacket, to mad scientist coat, to no jacket, to lab coat, to tux, and back. It was roughly that way for all the cast also; towns people in scene1, to lab coats in scene2, to travelers in scene3, and back to townspeople.
The ladies German dirndl dresses are so cute; black skirt, white sleeved, petticoat, apron, flower crown. Inga’s was little bit fancier than the others. I built some of Frau’s outfit, the grey shirt with the ribbon designs. Elizabeth had a few furs and sexy glamorous outfits. And everyone had a flashy Ritz tap-dancing outfit.
The officer Kemp was a real challenge; military style jacket and hat, sash, metals, fake hand, peg leg, eye patch, cape.
A few extra characters; entourage maids, werewolf, vampire, undertaker, telegraph boy, assorted travelers, priest, horses, ghost ancestors.
We cleaned the Monsters and Frankenstein’s white shirts every night because it always got green facepaint on it.
The stage set was spectacular. Spinning bookcases, laboratory table that raises and lowers, castle door, village buildings, fireplace, stairs, flickering candle fixtures.
I made 7 Igor hoods for the set crew to wear, and a few aprons. We tailored a few dresses, bought some other pieces, built some, and rented a chunk of the main character outfits from a diff theater: the monsters brown suit, Igors outfit, the towns womens folk dresses.
Photos Below: Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Shakespeare in the Park. 2018
I helped a little bit with a show last year [my first ever theater experience], but not for the whole run. So this really was my first-time doing outdoor theater. - Simply being outdoors at night was draining, and it’s Not the easiest thing to do theatrically either. Every night while I did minor repairs, trying to sew in the dark with frozen fingers, the whole stage set had to be taken down and moved into a storage barn.
It’s a lot of prep work. Although, I shouldn’t complain, since I was only there for the tech week. Someone else had the honor of doing the white laundry over the weekends.
Almost every costume the production company already had, since they do quite a few Shakespearean shows. A few pieces were borrowed, and my own modest contribution to the show was 9 cape/cloaks, as accessories whenever the characters were travelling. The week was spent doing minor modifications; a bit of lace, some buttons, feathers for their hats, some tucks, hems, ect.
Photos by: Evelyn Huynh
I helped a little bit with a show last year [my first ever theater experience], but not for the whole run. So this really was my first-time doing outdoor theater. - Simply being outdoors at night was draining, and it’s Not the easiest thing to do theatrically either. Every night while I did minor repairs, trying to sew in the dark with frozen fingers, the whole stage set had to be taken down and moved into a storage barn.
It’s a lot of prep work. Although, I shouldn’t complain, since I was only there for the tech week. Someone else had the honor of doing the white laundry over the weekends.
Almost every costume the production company already had, since they do quite a few Shakespearean shows. A few pieces were borrowed, and my own modest contribution to the show was 9 cape/cloaks, as accessories whenever the characters were travelling. The week was spent doing minor modifications; a bit of lace, some buttons, feathers for their hats, some tucks, hems, ect.
Photos by: Evelyn Huynh
Photos Below: The Sound of Music. 2018. Foothill Smithwick Theatre. Directed by Milissa Carey.
We made several Nun costumes, and postulants, and the drapery outfits for the children. It was a huge cast.
20 Nuns, 7 children, 6 Nazi soldiers, 4 festival outfits, 2 military officers, a butler, a maid, a housekeeper, a telegram boy. We pulled a dozen suits, tuxedos, party dresses, military uniforms, school uniforms. There were many alterations.
The children even grew during the run of the show, and some of their clothing became very snug. Each child has a school uniform, pajamas, drapery outfits, formal wear, causal sweaters, and performance outfits.
Maria has 2 plain dresses, a postulant uniform, a nightgown, a nice dress, a wedding dress, an elegant suit, a performance dress, and a travelling coat.
There was easily 7 racks worth of costumes in this production.
Photo Credit David Allen.
We made several Nun costumes, and postulants, and the drapery outfits for the children. It was a huge cast.
20 Nuns, 7 children, 6 Nazi soldiers, 4 festival outfits, 2 military officers, a butler, a maid, a housekeeper, a telegram boy. We pulled a dozen suits, tuxedos, party dresses, military uniforms, school uniforms. There were many alterations.
The children even grew during the run of the show, and some of their clothing became very snug. Each child has a school uniform, pajamas, drapery outfits, formal wear, causal sweaters, and performance outfits.
Maria has 2 plain dresses, a postulant uniform, a nightgown, a nice dress, a wedding dress, an elegant suit, a performance dress, and a travelling coat.
There was easily 7 racks worth of costumes in this production.
Photo Credit David Allen.
Miscellaneous theatre thoughts: 9/2018
I started to get distracted, focusing too hard on my day job, and forgetting about the dream job.
So one day, while fantasizing about a full-time job in theatre, I googled theatre job descriptions. And I was shocked, that the description for Costume Designer didn’t exactly have ‘sewing’ in the requirements.
It said that Costume Designers create the look of each character; by buying/making/revamping/renting costumes. Using colors and textures to present the characters occupation and status, suggesting relationships between the characters, and their age, while reinforcing the style of the show. Historical or otherwise. The job also involves creating a Costume Plot: a chart showing which characters are in each scene, and what they’re wearing, ect.
The description went on to say that the designer would do dozens of sketches; showing texture, style, silhouette, and features of each costume. And then the description abruptly ended, without saying anything about measurements, fittings, costume parade, first-dress stumble, tailoring, techniques for making wardrobe quick-changes, or cleaning/repairs.
I feel I have to inform people that, we sew a lot. From minor hem alterations, to building it all from scratch, we sew for every show. I’m not sure how the job description could gloss over that fact.
As for 'drawings/sketching', in 10 shows, I’ve only done 5-6 rough quick sketches. Mostly, we just look up pictures online.
We also watch youtube videos from other theatres who did the same show; we observe how they did it, and decide if we should do something realistically similar.
Furthermore, when you rent costumes, they show you a collection of photos from their show, so you can see what everyone’s wearing. So even if you don’t like it, you have a firm idea of what it could look like. SO there isn't a real need to sketch out anything.
I think I just realized why ‘work experience’ is better than ‘book work’.
I started to get distracted, focusing too hard on my day job, and forgetting about the dream job.
So one day, while fantasizing about a full-time job in theatre, I googled theatre job descriptions. And I was shocked, that the description for Costume Designer didn’t exactly have ‘sewing’ in the requirements.
It said that Costume Designers create the look of each character; by buying/making/revamping/renting costumes. Using colors and textures to present the characters occupation and status, suggesting relationships between the characters, and their age, while reinforcing the style of the show. Historical or otherwise. The job also involves creating a Costume Plot: a chart showing which characters are in each scene, and what they’re wearing, ect.
The description went on to say that the designer would do dozens of sketches; showing texture, style, silhouette, and features of each costume. And then the description abruptly ended, without saying anything about measurements, fittings, costume parade, first-dress stumble, tailoring, techniques for making wardrobe quick-changes, or cleaning/repairs.
I feel I have to inform people that, we sew a lot. From minor hem alterations, to building it all from scratch, we sew for every show. I’m not sure how the job description could gloss over that fact.
As for 'drawings/sketching', in 10 shows, I’ve only done 5-6 rough quick sketches. Mostly, we just look up pictures online.
We also watch youtube videos from other theatres who did the same show; we observe how they did it, and decide if we should do something realistically similar.
Furthermore, when you rent costumes, they show you a collection of photos from their show, so you can see what everyone’s wearing. So even if you don’t like it, you have a firm idea of what it could look like. SO there isn't a real need to sketch out anything.
I think I just realized why ‘work experience’ is better than ‘book work’.
Photos Below: Sleepy Hollow. 2018.
The middle school production of Sleepy Hollow. It was Mostly things the school had in the costume basement. Prairie dresses and revolution era coats. We made some hair doilies for the girls, and altered some clothing. I made some shawls. The girls wore long dresses, and the boys wore vests or long jackets.
I made the Pumpkin Head for the headless horsemen puppet.
Photos By:
The middle school production of Sleepy Hollow. It was Mostly things the school had in the costume basement. Prairie dresses and revolution era coats. We made some hair doilies for the girls, and altered some clothing. I made some shawls. The girls wore long dresses, and the boys wore vests or long jackets.
I made the Pumpkin Head for the headless horsemen puppet.
Photos By:
Photos Below: Hamlet Zombie Hunter of Demark. 2018.
Middle school production involving zombies in the story of Hamlet. Medieval and renaissance fashions.
Middle school production involving zombies in the story of Hamlet. Medieval and renaissance fashions.
Photos Below: Chicago. 2018.
I made some props; 3 old timey reporter cameras, and modified some toys for the Tommy Guns used in the finale. We made 16 feather fans. Hemmed and added fringe to dozens of dresses. Rented some 1920s Prison frocks.
A massive cast in this show; the director added a whole dance troupe, stretching the costume budget thin. Everyone had a black dancewear base outfit, and the ensemble had reporter coats. The 2 leads had their basic blacks, and a black and metallic sequin dress, and a white glittery finale dress.
The night before the opening, the director cut All the razzle-dazzle outfits that we had already assigned and fit, because the actors couldn’t quick-change out fast enough to get into the next scene [time and effort wasted]. So there are no pictures of those costumes, but they were spectacular. We ended up just adding some gold dance shorts on top of their blacks to make it flashier.
This director isn’t great at foreseeing wardrobe problems, and kept buying outfits that didn’t take into concern underdressing or mic-packs. Crop tops, backless, sheer, skin tight. Difficult to work with.
Overall the show was jazz sexy, and had a 60s cabaret feel, with lots of fishnet stockings.
There were actually dozens of costume pieces that the director had us acquire that we barely used, and didn’t really need for the plot. A Uncle Sam, a Lady Liberty, a Lady Justice, a glitzy white ballerina tutu, some short bodysuits [looked like 1920s bathing suits].
What we needed was lots of hats. Fedoras for some of the reporters, bowler derbies for Roxie’s boys, gold top hats for razzle-dazzle, some police hats.
In addition to the black dancewear, we had Prison uniforms for the ladies, prison uniforms for the men, lots of reporter jackets. A sequin jacket for Mama, a fat belly for Amos, and an old-timey poorly fitting suit [like Charlie Chaplin]. A few suits for lawyers, a judge, a tuxedo for Billy, a few fancy furs for the ladies coats, a doctor coat, a mechanics coverall.
I made some props; 3 old timey reporter cameras, and modified some toys for the Tommy Guns used in the finale. We made 16 feather fans. Hemmed and added fringe to dozens of dresses. Rented some 1920s Prison frocks.
A massive cast in this show; the director added a whole dance troupe, stretching the costume budget thin. Everyone had a black dancewear base outfit, and the ensemble had reporter coats. The 2 leads had their basic blacks, and a black and metallic sequin dress, and a white glittery finale dress.
The night before the opening, the director cut All the razzle-dazzle outfits that we had already assigned and fit, because the actors couldn’t quick-change out fast enough to get into the next scene [time and effort wasted]. So there are no pictures of those costumes, but they were spectacular. We ended up just adding some gold dance shorts on top of their blacks to make it flashier.
This director isn’t great at foreseeing wardrobe problems, and kept buying outfits that didn’t take into concern underdressing or mic-packs. Crop tops, backless, sheer, skin tight. Difficult to work with.
Overall the show was jazz sexy, and had a 60s cabaret feel, with lots of fishnet stockings.
There were actually dozens of costume pieces that the director had us acquire that we barely used, and didn’t really need for the plot. A Uncle Sam, a Lady Liberty, a Lady Justice, a glitzy white ballerina tutu, some short bodysuits [looked like 1920s bathing suits].
What we needed was lots of hats. Fedoras for some of the reporters, bowler derbies for Roxie’s boys, gold top hats for razzle-dazzle, some police hats.
In addition to the black dancewear, we had Prison uniforms for the ladies, prison uniforms for the men, lots of reporter jackets. A sequin jacket for Mama, a fat belly for Amos, and an old-timey poorly fitting suit [like Charlie Chaplin]. A few suits for lawyers, a judge, a tuxedo for Billy, a few fancy furs for the ladies coats, a doctor coat, a mechanics coverall.
Photos Below: Into the Woods – Los Altos Stage Company. 2018.
A fairy-tale musical with about 25 actors. 4 princess dresses, 2 stepsisters, 2 princes, 2 old ladies, the witch, the baker, the wolf, the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, the slipper as pure as gold.
For this show, I made the 2 pink stepsister dresses and stepmother dress from scratch. I also made the gold cloak for Cinderella’s mothers ghost. And I lent my top hat to the show for the wolf, and sewed ears to it. We bought one, but it was too small for the actor. Also added fur bits to the wolf outfit; Tail, claw mittens, chest hair. Also made ears for his granny cap.
We then Tailored all the dresses. We had to hem nearly all of them, and we added pockets inside a few costumes for props.
Most of the other stuff was easily found; aprons or petticoats for the ladies, vests or scarves for the men.
The mysterious man, who turns out to be the bakers long-lost father wearing a disguise, and also the narrator, went through a complicated quick-change sequence. Wearing a cardigan, under a long doublet, under a hooded cloak and mask.
The witch did something similar for her quick-change; wearing a pretty dark velvet dress, under a black robe, under a mystical cloak.
Jack and his Mother had a poor outfit and a wealthy outfit.
Cinderella had a poor outfit, a ball gown, and a princess dress.
The step-Sisters and step-Mother had a corset & bloomer underwear outfit, and their pink dresses. And shawls for when they travel.
The baker’s wife wore a maternity dress and apron. Be built a flowy robe for the bird puppeteer to wear. and Tailored the prince outfit a little larger.
Purchased plain white fleece onesies for the cows and made alterations, hemmed, made ears, horns, tail. The off-white cow turned into a headache as we tried a dozen times to make the patches appear to be dusted with flour, each time dirtying the costume, and having to spend time cleaning it.
We also spent an unusual amount of time trying to make a store bought Rapunzel outfit look less cartoony, but then ended up using a medieval style dress instead.
Some photos by Richard Mayer.
A fairy-tale musical with about 25 actors. 4 princess dresses, 2 stepsisters, 2 princes, 2 old ladies, the witch, the baker, the wolf, the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, the slipper as pure as gold.
For this show, I made the 2 pink stepsister dresses and stepmother dress from scratch. I also made the gold cloak for Cinderella’s mothers ghost. And I lent my top hat to the show for the wolf, and sewed ears to it. We bought one, but it was too small for the actor. Also added fur bits to the wolf outfit; Tail, claw mittens, chest hair. Also made ears for his granny cap.
We then Tailored all the dresses. We had to hem nearly all of them, and we added pockets inside a few costumes for props.
Most of the other stuff was easily found; aprons or petticoats for the ladies, vests or scarves for the men.
The mysterious man, who turns out to be the bakers long-lost father wearing a disguise, and also the narrator, went through a complicated quick-change sequence. Wearing a cardigan, under a long doublet, under a hooded cloak and mask.
The witch did something similar for her quick-change; wearing a pretty dark velvet dress, under a black robe, under a mystical cloak.
Jack and his Mother had a poor outfit and a wealthy outfit.
Cinderella had a poor outfit, a ball gown, and a princess dress.
The step-Sisters and step-Mother had a corset & bloomer underwear outfit, and their pink dresses. And shawls for when they travel.
The baker’s wife wore a maternity dress and apron. Be built a flowy robe for the bird puppeteer to wear. and Tailored the prince outfit a little larger.
Purchased plain white fleece onesies for the cows and made alterations, hemmed, made ears, horns, tail. The off-white cow turned into a headache as we tried a dozen times to make the patches appear to be dusted with flour, each time dirtying the costume, and having to spend time cleaning it.
We also spent an unusual amount of time trying to make a store bought Rapunzel outfit look less cartoony, but then ended up using a medieval style dress instead.
Some photos by Richard Mayer.
Photos Below: Big River. South Bay Musical Theater. 2019.
Adventures of Huck Finn. American South 1800s, grimy historical style. Overalls, collarless button shirts, stripes/plaids, straw hats, top hats, long coats, tail coats, vests, cravats, lots of suspenders, floor-length skirts, black shawls, white shawls, bonnets. Not a very difficult show to costume.
The only big things we had to make was the Nonesuch freakshow costume, and the tar-and-feather suit. And I have some hindsight thoughts on the Nonesuch, since our actor had large clumsy hands, and couldn’t quite get the hang of wearing a veil dress. We should have put him in a type of patchwork festival robe, like a decorated choir robe, because that would have been much easier for him to figure out. But Nearly everything else was pulled, rented, borrowed, bought and altered, and some of the clothing was distressed, by putting patches and makeup-mud on. Only Pap and the Kings jackets were permanently destroyed for the show.
The slaves were in more Renaissance style shirts with string closures, and the townies were in button shirts.
Our tar-and-feather mob was all in black choir robes, with bandana masks and hats.
In addition to all the named characters. We had a Lawyer, a Priest, a Sheriff, a school Teacher, some Boatmen, a Judge, 3 Tarts, and few boys, and a few slaves. Everyone also doubled as towns people ensemble in the big scenes.
The most versatile costume that we seem to use over and over, is the women’s prairie dresses; long sleeve, floor-length, basic/neutral colored. Apparently, this style is unassumingly plain enough to pass as fantasy or historical. We also use a lot of shawls, jackets, aprons, and hats, to alter characters so they don’t have to fully change costumes.
Photos by Steve Stubbs.
Adventures of Huck Finn. American South 1800s, grimy historical style. Overalls, collarless button shirts, stripes/plaids, straw hats, top hats, long coats, tail coats, vests, cravats, lots of suspenders, floor-length skirts, black shawls, white shawls, bonnets. Not a very difficult show to costume.
The only big things we had to make was the Nonesuch freakshow costume, and the tar-and-feather suit. And I have some hindsight thoughts on the Nonesuch, since our actor had large clumsy hands, and couldn’t quite get the hang of wearing a veil dress. We should have put him in a type of patchwork festival robe, like a decorated choir robe, because that would have been much easier for him to figure out. But Nearly everything else was pulled, rented, borrowed, bought and altered, and some of the clothing was distressed, by putting patches and makeup-mud on. Only Pap and the Kings jackets were permanently destroyed for the show.
The slaves were in more Renaissance style shirts with string closures, and the townies were in button shirts.
Our tar-and-feather mob was all in black choir robes, with bandana masks and hats.
In addition to all the named characters. We had a Lawyer, a Priest, a Sheriff, a school Teacher, some Boatmen, a Judge, 3 Tarts, and few boys, and a few slaves. Everyone also doubled as towns people ensemble in the big scenes.
The most versatile costume that we seem to use over and over, is the women’s prairie dresses; long sleeve, floor-length, basic/neutral colored. Apparently, this style is unassumingly plain enough to pass as fantasy or historical. We also use a lot of shawls, jackets, aprons, and hats, to alter characters so they don’t have to fully change costumes.
Photos by Steve Stubbs.
Photos Below: Mulan. 2019.
Mulan was one of those shows that required a lot of crafting. The cast was massive. Over 60, and nealy everyone had multiple costumes. Plus, with a cast this size we had some costume plot issues when we miscounted who was in the solider-ensemble in later scenes.
Nearly everyone had a gi karate shirt, which we made, because we thought we needed 70, and buying that many would have been too expensive. But it turns out we only needed 50.
The Soldiers had some armor bits, which we made, it took a while. And helmets, we added vinyl bits to the helmets.
The villainous Huns had faux fur ponchos, which we made. And furry helmets.
The dragon magic dancers wore orange pants and yellow shirts with flamey poncho bits draping off it from the neck.
The dragon Mushu in an all red oriental outfit, and I made the hat from scratch. It has some scales on the sleeves as well.
Our own basement had an armful of oriental fashions, and another local youth theater was losing their storage space, and was giving away all their costumes to other theaters, so I collected another armful of oriental fashions from them. So we had nearly enough for our villager and parade extras.
We bought a Disney Mulan outfit online, and cut it apart to make it a quick change wrap dress. Mulan has a maiden dress, a bathrobe, a boys outfit, and armor bits.
The ancestors wear grey robes, with a decorative collar. Hemming those was a pain, some of the kids were very small.
Emperor wore a purple robe, red belt, oriental hat. The Matchmaker wore a purple robe.
Mulans family wore a lot of teal. I also altered some pants since the Lion dancers needed pants to match their lion Head outfit.
I’m not 100% happy with how it all looks. It seems a little bit plain, if I was to do it all over again, I would have made the Huns more menacing, and I would have used a flasher fabric for the magic dancer ensemble. But we really didn’t have the budget to buy the things we wanted for this particular show.
Mulan was one of those shows that required a lot of crafting. The cast was massive. Over 60, and nealy everyone had multiple costumes. Plus, with a cast this size we had some costume plot issues when we miscounted who was in the solider-ensemble in later scenes.
Nearly everyone had a gi karate shirt, which we made, because we thought we needed 70, and buying that many would have been too expensive. But it turns out we only needed 50.
The Soldiers had some armor bits, which we made, it took a while. And helmets, we added vinyl bits to the helmets.
The villainous Huns had faux fur ponchos, which we made. And furry helmets.
The dragon magic dancers wore orange pants and yellow shirts with flamey poncho bits draping off it from the neck.
The dragon Mushu in an all red oriental outfit, and I made the hat from scratch. It has some scales on the sleeves as well.
Our own basement had an armful of oriental fashions, and another local youth theater was losing their storage space, and was giving away all their costumes to other theaters, so I collected another armful of oriental fashions from them. So we had nearly enough for our villager and parade extras.
We bought a Disney Mulan outfit online, and cut it apart to make it a quick change wrap dress. Mulan has a maiden dress, a bathrobe, a boys outfit, and armor bits.
The ancestors wear grey robes, with a decorative collar. Hemming those was a pain, some of the kids were very small.
Emperor wore a purple robe, red belt, oriental hat. The Matchmaker wore a purple robe.
Mulans family wore a lot of teal. I also altered some pants since the Lion dancers needed pants to match their lion Head outfit.
I’m not 100% happy with how it all looks. It seems a little bit plain, if I was to do it all over again, I would have made the Huns more menacing, and I would have used a flasher fabric for the magic dancer ensemble. But we really didn’t have the budget to buy the things we wanted for this particular show.
Photos Below: Next to Normal - This show only had 6 actors, but there were many costume changes. A family of 4, a doctor character, and a boyfriend for the daughter. I made 2 aprons, and hemmed some pants, but other than that, this show was mostly just purchased pieces.
Normal conservative suburban mom, and professional working dad clothing, normal teen girl and teen boy clothing, a normal doctor suit. Plus some scrubs, a lab coat, hospital gown, a white tuxedo dinner jacket, a short prom dress, a dozen sweaters / coats / hoodies, some PJs. I tried to do a thing with the mother and sons outfits, where they were dressed in the same color in the scenes when they were in sync, to indicate their strong connection. At the top of show they were both in a shade of peach, then later in shades of green, then white, then grey, then lavender, ect. and everyone ends the show in a shade of red to show their commonality with the ending.
We intended to have the mom wear skirts/dresses at the beginning, but the set was low on scenery, so she sat the steps instead of a chair, and the skirt showed too much leg, so by preview she was in pants. I wasn’t too impressed with the set, it seemed weirdly BlackBox [black walls, black floor, no doors, minimal furniture, no scenery]. But this also meant that if you wear too much black on stage, you’d blend into the background.
Photos by Richard Mayer.
We also made the local news: Community News: Theater review: ‘Next to Normal’ is abnormally good https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/30/theater-review-next-to-normal/?fbclid=IwAR0rkrVA0kJZ9lurJKOxUSyFlkZoyLOiK7D3qmX54nRb_GVf6X1ASo5rxDI
Normal conservative suburban mom, and professional working dad clothing, normal teen girl and teen boy clothing, a normal doctor suit. Plus some scrubs, a lab coat, hospital gown, a white tuxedo dinner jacket, a short prom dress, a dozen sweaters / coats / hoodies, some PJs. I tried to do a thing with the mother and sons outfits, where they were dressed in the same color in the scenes when they were in sync, to indicate their strong connection. At the top of show they were both in a shade of peach, then later in shades of green, then white, then grey, then lavender, ect. and everyone ends the show in a shade of red to show their commonality with the ending.
We intended to have the mom wear skirts/dresses at the beginning, but the set was low on scenery, so she sat the steps instead of a chair, and the skirt showed too much leg, so by preview she was in pants. I wasn’t too impressed with the set, it seemed weirdly BlackBox [black walls, black floor, no doors, minimal furniture, no scenery]. But this also meant that if you wear too much black on stage, you’d blend into the background.
Photos by Richard Mayer.
We also made the local news: Community News: Theater review: ‘Next to Normal’ is abnormally good https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/05/30/theater-review-next-to-normal/?fbclid=IwAR0rkrVA0kJZ9lurJKOxUSyFlkZoyLOiK7D3qmX54nRb_GVf6X1ASo5rxDI
Photos Below: Mulan. 2019.
I did Mulan Jr again at a summer camp, using majority of the outfits we made from the last time we did it. Since it was a camp production, the campers tried their best to make things for the show.
Some campers made hats, some decorated shirts, some made headbands, or painted shields, made jewelry, or cut out scabbards.
I used a lot of the costume pieces I had from the prior time I did the show, same hats/helmets and armor bits. I bought a few black men’s shirts, dance tops, and Chinese type robes specifically for this show.
The set was lovely. There was a real pond below the bridge.
It was also my first time working at a 7yr-13yr summer camp, so I enjoyed how child friendly everything was. We had announcement meetings at the start-and-end of everyday so everyone could ask questions, get feedback, give appreciation, and be recognized for their efforts that day. We also had a dozen highschool interns that supervised the activities, and did a lot of the busy work for me. It was a very gentle and supportive environment. But since the camp was only 4 weeks long, I did spend a lot of money on expedited shipping.
I did Mulan Jr again at a summer camp, using majority of the outfits we made from the last time we did it. Since it was a camp production, the campers tried their best to make things for the show.
Some campers made hats, some decorated shirts, some made headbands, or painted shields, made jewelry, or cut out scabbards.
I used a lot of the costume pieces I had from the prior time I did the show, same hats/helmets and armor bits. I bought a few black men’s shirts, dance tops, and Chinese type robes specifically for this show.
The set was lovely. There was a real pond below the bridge.
It was also my first time working at a 7yr-13yr summer camp, so I enjoyed how child friendly everything was. We had announcement meetings at the start-and-end of everyday so everyone could ask questions, get feedback, give appreciation, and be recognized for their efforts that day. We also had a dozen highschool interns that supervised the activities, and did a lot of the busy work for me. It was a very gentle and supportive environment. But since the camp was only 4 weeks long, I did spend a lot of money on expedited shipping.
Photos Below: Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella. 2019 Foothill, Smithwick theatre.
I was on a fantasy dress kick when I heard that this show was going to happen. So I was already in the middle of making a purple fairytale fantasy dress, which we used in the show for one of the step-sisters.
I ordered 6 fancy men's jackets online, and embellished them. And we pulled some colorful dresses from the storage, and made them fancier with trims and embroidered fabrics. We tried to rent some transformation dresses from another theatre, but they didn’t fit the actress. so I made my own, and I spent a month thinking about how.
See my quick-change transformation dress page for more detail on this. It’s basically a dress that’s rigged to fall off and reveal the outfit underneath. With the trick being how to make the first outfit ‘disappear’ fast enough so that people think it happened with magic.
The show had 36 actors. Space capacity was a problem, everyone had 2-5 costumes, so we ran out of space. Most of the men had a villager costume, a guard/knight costume, and a formal outfit. Women had their village costumes and their formal dresses, and several of them were also extraneous characters, like the 4 carriage horses, the racoon & fox puppets, the flower girls at the wedding.
Cinderella herself had: a villager dress, a transforming villager dress, a white chiffon dress, a full white gown, a pink transformation dress, a gold sparkle spandex dress, a gold sequin dress, a white cape, and bloomers. Fairy godmother had 2 outfits. Madame had 4 outfits.
I made all the transforming dresses and some of the other ones. I made them from scratch, but in hindsight, I think it would’ve been much easier to just rig an existing dress with Velcro/snap seams. I learned a lot about it, and wrote a separate page for it.
I also made the fairy godmothers transforming cloak. I made the giants pants and borrowed the cloak [the special effects guy made the monster head]. We also made the 10 guard tabards, and their hats, and a few pairs of pants.
We pulled/ rented/ borrowed/ bought most of the formal wear and villager wear, and made a lot of alterations. I made all the women villager hair kerchiefs, and all the formal hair feather/ribbon/bows. The men wore fancy flat hats, and white socks.
The Director was less concerned with the continuity of the costumes and more concerned with how they looked on the actresses, so I had to do many alterations.
This show had an unusually quick time between load-in and tech. So key pieces of set weren’t finished in time for Photographs. In general, the show could’ve used another 3 days prep. Also, for some reason we couldn’t find enough quick-change helpers, so I ended up working the whole tech week backstage, instead of watching the show from the audience, and also coming in to help out a few days a week during the run of show.
I was exhausted, but I liked working backstage. I made fast friends with the crew, which deepened the connection I had to the show. Plus, since I was there all the time, repairs happened quickly.
It was a beautiful show, with a lot of formal wear and ballroom dancing. I was sad when it all ended.
I think if I was to do it all over again I’d make the bodice of the pink transformation dress more structured. The fabric was thin, and since it was a tear away dress, it looked sort of lumpy on her.
THIS SHOW received 9 Theatre Bay Area Award nominations.
https://abc7news.com/entertainment/cinderella-has-a-new-attitude-and-you-can-see-it/5406337/?fbclid=IwAR3koTjsI7DReg0ggQzetJphj7_2MbX-XfarmpIJLjjwSSOvxd8QaJq9yPs
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/07/14/the-message-is-the-magic-in-foothills-cinderella/?fbclid=IwAR0M8gQn6o3E6tRjEkTDz_wxSGXy51-E47kG4fr-W-Qyz3oI1xxpN9veZI8
https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Photo-Flash-Foothill-MusicTheatre-Presents-RODGERS-HAMMERSTEINS-CINDERELLA-20190719
photo credit: David Allen.
Photos Below: Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. 2019. SBMT
Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder - set in the Edwardian time period. The Edwardian Era was from 1901 to approx1910, ending firmly at WW1. Think of the first season of Downton Abbey, or King Edward VII, or President Theodore Roosevelt and President Howard Taft, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, or the Titanic which sunk in 1912.
The lead designer on this show wanted everything to be handmade, so we had to get a half dozen sewers to help out with the builds. All the ensemble women's and men's base costumes were handmade by us [tops, skirts, vests, pants, ect]. Including the women's bloomers and chemise undergarment tops, that you didn't really ever see. The show was inspired by Edward Gorey, so most of the ensemble and stage was done in black/white/grey.
I personally did the 5 dresses that the character Phoebe wore. Her characters' color was blue. A garden daytime outfit with a floral print top, with a patterned demin walking skirt, then a black funeral dress with black lace overlay with a blue belt, then a upper-class day outfit a blue dress with black lace overlay, black belt and cuffs, worn with a guimpe top, then a formal dinner gown which was pale blue with a beaded embroidery overdress, which I had to do by hand since you can't sew over beads, and finally a navy blue court suit. Then, I started doing the D’ysquith family quick-change outfits. Which involves sewing the whole outfit into 1 piece and putting a large industrial zipper down the back. I did 6 of them for this show.
I’m good at quick-change outfits now, having made a few for past shows. See the quick-change page for more thoughts on this topic.
Since every change was a quick change, all the bits had to be sewn to the garment. Lady Hyacinth is in a black striped dress, and I sewed a large bra into it and stitched the front closed. The Earl is in a black suit, silver vest, white shirt, top hat, and a Medal around his neck. It was rather difficult to sew thru all the layers, especially at the collar. I had to cut the sleeves off all the shirts, and sew faux cuffs at the bottom of all the jackets sleeves because they were too difficult for the actor to take off quickly. Asquith Jr is in a grey/green plaid suit with a striped back vest and a white shirt. Adalbert Senior, the banker, is in a black suit. Henry, the squire, is in a grey Norfolk jacket. Chauncey is in a grey coverall, ect, Reverend Ezekiel, Bartholomew the weight lifter, Lady Salome the actress.
The quick-change crew for the show was great. 3 people. one to zip and unzip, one to do the hats/mustache, one to pull the sleeves off and hold up the next outfit. Majority of the quick-changes were done in 30 seconds.
After that, I did alterations and finishing work on several of Sibella's costumes. Which someone else started and I had to finish with trims and hems and zippers and buttons.
We moved into the theater 3 weeks before the show opened, and we all basically lived there 3 nights a week doing hand sewing. Since all the base clothing was made in-house, all the pants, vests, skirts, and coats needed hemming, and buttons, and button holes. It was a terrible waste of time to make clothing that could easily be purchased for the same price. But it was sort of worth it since we won an award for our costumes, and then the show was nominated for a TBA.
Photos by Scott McClelland.
Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder - set in the Edwardian time period. The Edwardian Era was from 1901 to approx1910, ending firmly at WW1. Think of the first season of Downton Abbey, or King Edward VII, or President Theodore Roosevelt and President Howard Taft, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, or the Titanic which sunk in 1912.
The lead designer on this show wanted everything to be handmade, so we had to get a half dozen sewers to help out with the builds. All the ensemble women's and men's base costumes were handmade by us [tops, skirts, vests, pants, ect]. Including the women's bloomers and chemise undergarment tops, that you didn't really ever see. The show was inspired by Edward Gorey, so most of the ensemble and stage was done in black/white/grey.
I personally did the 5 dresses that the character Phoebe wore. Her characters' color was blue. A garden daytime outfit with a floral print top, with a patterned demin walking skirt, then a black funeral dress with black lace overlay with a blue belt, then a upper-class day outfit a blue dress with black lace overlay, black belt and cuffs, worn with a guimpe top, then a formal dinner gown which was pale blue with a beaded embroidery overdress, which I had to do by hand since you can't sew over beads, and finally a navy blue court suit. Then, I started doing the D’ysquith family quick-change outfits. Which involves sewing the whole outfit into 1 piece and putting a large industrial zipper down the back. I did 6 of them for this show.
I’m good at quick-change outfits now, having made a few for past shows. See the quick-change page for more thoughts on this topic.
Since every change was a quick change, all the bits had to be sewn to the garment. Lady Hyacinth is in a black striped dress, and I sewed a large bra into it and stitched the front closed. The Earl is in a black suit, silver vest, white shirt, top hat, and a Medal around his neck. It was rather difficult to sew thru all the layers, especially at the collar. I had to cut the sleeves off all the shirts, and sew faux cuffs at the bottom of all the jackets sleeves because they were too difficult for the actor to take off quickly. Asquith Jr is in a grey/green plaid suit with a striped back vest and a white shirt. Adalbert Senior, the banker, is in a black suit. Henry, the squire, is in a grey Norfolk jacket. Chauncey is in a grey coverall, ect, Reverend Ezekiel, Bartholomew the weight lifter, Lady Salome the actress.
The quick-change crew for the show was great. 3 people. one to zip and unzip, one to do the hats/mustache, one to pull the sleeves off and hold up the next outfit. Majority of the quick-changes were done in 30 seconds.
After that, I did alterations and finishing work on several of Sibella's costumes. Which someone else started and I had to finish with trims and hems and zippers and buttons.
We moved into the theater 3 weeks before the show opened, and we all basically lived there 3 nights a week doing hand sewing. Since all the base clothing was made in-house, all the pants, vests, skirts, and coats needed hemming, and buttons, and button holes. It was a terrible waste of time to make clothing that could easily be purchased for the same price. But it was sort of worth it since we won an award for our costumes, and then the show was nominated for a TBA.
Photos by Scott McClelland.
See Below: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. 2019.
A diverse group of quirky characters at a middle school spelling bee. Nothing terribly difficult since its set in modern era, and the characters are described in the script. A realtor, a vice principle, an ex-convict, some overalls, some nerdy sweaters, a Chatholic school girl uniform, an orange cape, a boy scout uniform, an India tourist.
A diverse group of quirky characters at a middle school spelling bee. Nothing terribly difficult since its set in modern era, and the characters are described in the script. A realtor, a vice principle, an ex-convict, some overalls, some nerdy sweaters, a Chatholic school girl uniform, an orange cape, a boy scout uniform, an India tourist.
Photos Below: I also was the wardrobe supervisor at Foothill Theatre Arts, production of The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, a satirical comedy. I work there part-time all year now, so I helped out the whole time, from the photoshoot to the strike. 2019.
See below: I also helped a bit when the costume designer couldn't make it during tech dress rehearsal and strike at City Lights, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. Just light alterations and taking things to the cleaners. 2019.
See Below: Spamalot. 2019.
With youth theatre, it’s quantity but not quality. The budget wasn’t there for this show. Nearly 60 kids in the cast, everyone with multiple costume changes.
15 Finland, 14 French Guards, 15 Cancan/Mimes, 9 PepSquad, 9 Copacabana, 14 Knights of Ni, 10 bodies, 14 monks, 10 minstrels, 14 Knights of the Round table. A nun, a monk, 1 black knight, 1 batman, 1 disco suit, 3 angels, 4 main knights, 1 king, a father, a mother, a sorcerer, a lady of the lake, a historian, a nearly dead fellow, and several guards.
We made all the main character Knights, and all the Knights of the Round table, tabards and hoods.
We made all the caps for the Bodies, and the suspenders and aprons for Finland, and blue ponchos, and grey tabards. and I made the quick-change armor for Lady of the Lakes Camelot reveal. We altered some, and bought some. And made the special Black Knight that had the limbs come off.
With youth theatre, it’s quantity but not quality. The budget wasn’t there for this show. Nearly 60 kids in the cast, everyone with multiple costume changes.
15 Finland, 14 French Guards, 15 Cancan/Mimes, 9 PepSquad, 9 Copacabana, 14 Knights of Ni, 10 bodies, 14 monks, 10 minstrels, 14 Knights of the Round table. A nun, a monk, 1 black knight, 1 batman, 1 disco suit, 3 angels, 4 main knights, 1 king, a father, a mother, a sorcerer, a lady of the lake, a historian, a nearly dead fellow, and several guards.
We made all the main character Knights, and all the Knights of the Round table, tabards and hoods.
We made all the caps for the Bodies, and the suspenders and aprons for Finland, and blue ponchos, and grey tabards. and I made the quick-change armor for Lady of the Lakes Camelot reveal. We altered some, and bought some. And made the special Black Knight that had the limbs come off.
See Below: Oslo. 2020. LASC.
A drama about peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinians, facilitated by Norwegians. 13 people in the cast. Everyone wore suits when they were political characters; and overcoats when they were background [reporters/travelers/hotel guests].
Other characters were 2 bodyguards, a soldier, young boy in jeans, 2 sloppy professors, a housekeeper, a groundskeeper, a hotel hostess, and 2 German tourists. I think the trick with this production was to keep the politicians in serious colors, like: Charcoal/Black/Navy, and the civilians in colors, like: Tan/Beige/Light Grey/Light Blue. I also purchased a number of Flag lapel pins, and some keffiyah scarves.
A drama about peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinians, facilitated by Norwegians. 13 people in the cast. Everyone wore suits when they were political characters; and overcoats when they were background [reporters/travelers/hotel guests].
Other characters were 2 bodyguards, a soldier, young boy in jeans, 2 sloppy professors, a housekeeper, a groundskeeper, a hotel hostess, and 2 German tourists. I think the trick with this production was to keep the politicians in serious colors, like: Charcoal/Black/Navy, and the civilians in colors, like: Tan/Beige/Light Grey/Light Blue. I also purchased a number of Flag lapel pins, and some keffiyah scarves.
See Below: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. 2020. FMT.
I'm a part time employee of this theatre now, so I was the Assistant Costume Designer on this show.
A murder mystery in the Dickens era, 25 people in the cast, with a pick-your-own ending. I assisted, meaning that I didn't select any of the outfits myself, but I did do 90% of the alterations, and I was there for tech week and the run of show. I must’ve hemmed 10 items, let down 10 items, added trim to 10 items, added buttons to 10 items, added hooks to 10 items, took in 10 items, let out 10 items, added cuffs, did repairs, and various other things.
It took me 2 weeks to do all the alterations. All the men had : shirt, vest, suspenders, pants, coat. All the women had: petticoat, bodice, skirt. Several of them also had beige corsets, chemise/bloomers, cloaks/scarves, and a few had showgirl outfits: different tops, colored corsets, colored skirts.
I also rebuilt a fancy bustle skirt, which was only used for 2 seconds on stage, and made a few accessories. I also made the curtains for the show, and some prop pillows.
The Coronavirus Pandemic banned large gatherings of people, happened right in the middle of this show. the last 4 performances of this show were cancelled.
I'm a part time employee of this theatre now, so I was the Assistant Costume Designer on this show.
A murder mystery in the Dickens era, 25 people in the cast, with a pick-your-own ending. I assisted, meaning that I didn't select any of the outfits myself, but I did do 90% of the alterations, and I was there for tech week and the run of show. I must’ve hemmed 10 items, let down 10 items, added trim to 10 items, added buttons to 10 items, added hooks to 10 items, took in 10 items, let out 10 items, added cuffs, did repairs, and various other things.
It took me 2 weeks to do all the alterations. All the men had : shirt, vest, suspenders, pants, coat. All the women had: petticoat, bodice, skirt. Several of them also had beige corsets, chemise/bloomers, cloaks/scarves, and a few had showgirl outfits: different tops, colored corsets, colored skirts.
I also rebuilt a fancy bustle skirt, which was only used for 2 seconds on stage, and made a few accessories. I also made the curtains for the show, and some prop pillows.
The Coronavirus Pandemic banned large gatherings of people, happened right in the middle of this show. the last 4 performances of this show were cancelled.
See Below: Newsies. SHS. 2020. Youth theatre has huge casts. 80 kids.
This show was Cancelled because of the covid19 pandemic. The set was gorgeous, 2 story, a dozen entrances, and practical lights, and décor extended to the absolute sides of the theatre. All the costumes had to be put away without ever having used them.
This show was Cancelled because of the covid19 pandemic. The set was gorgeous, 2 story, a dozen entrances, and practical lights, and décor extended to the absolute sides of the theatre. All the costumes had to be put away without ever having used them.
See Below: Spring Awakening. PVTC. 2020. Coronavirus Covid19 Pandemic cancelled the show.
I made the woman's outfit from scratch, and added lace trim to a lot of the girls dresses. I hemmed the boys pants into shorts, and was 90% done with fittings when the show was cancelled.
I made the woman's outfit from scratch, and added lace trim to a lot of the girls dresses. I hemmed the boys pants into shorts, and was 90% done with fittings when the show was cancelled.
See Below: Greek Gods Under Quarantine. SHS. 2020.
A comedy about the various Greek Gods who video call each other regarding the recent theft of Pandora’s Box. A Youth production. This is my first time doing an Online theatre production. The camera is focused on the actors head and shoulders. A lot of the costume details are totally unseen. There were 16 cast members playing 20 characters. Most of them wore a Toga-like garment, and some type of head decoration [floral wreath, tiara, laurel leaf, hat]. After collecting basic size info about each actor, unable to actually meet in person, I was really only working in the costume shop for 2 days. All the fittings and production meetings were done online.
I had to make a winged helmet for Hermes, and a few special broches.
Hercules and Ares had different types of armor on. Most of the ladies had colorful drapes on their pale Greek style dresses, and jewelry. The Sphinx had a large Egyptian collar, huge frizzy wig with cat ears, and wings. Poseidon requested to be in a white captain boating yacht outfit.
The technical director sent out ring-lights for the actors and large posters for their backdrops.
This was a new play, SO this was the World premier, and this cast and crew is credited in the script as the original cast.
A comedy about the various Greek Gods who video call each other regarding the recent theft of Pandora’s Box. A Youth production. This is my first time doing an Online theatre production. The camera is focused on the actors head and shoulders. A lot of the costume details are totally unseen. There were 16 cast members playing 20 characters. Most of them wore a Toga-like garment, and some type of head decoration [floral wreath, tiara, laurel leaf, hat]. After collecting basic size info about each actor, unable to actually meet in person, I was really only working in the costume shop for 2 days. All the fittings and production meetings were done online.
I had to make a winged helmet for Hermes, and a few special broches.
Hercules and Ares had different types of armor on. Most of the ladies had colorful drapes on their pale Greek style dresses, and jewelry. The Sphinx had a large Egyptian collar, huge frizzy wig with cat ears, and wings. Poseidon requested to be in a white captain boating yacht outfit.
The technical director sent out ring-lights for the actors and large posters for their backdrops.
This was a new play, SO this was the World premier, and this cast and crew is credited in the script as the original cast.
See Below: Odd Couple [female version] Zoom production. SHS 2020.
This play is about an high-strung uptight lady in the middle of a divorce, who’s moved in with a sloppy friend.
Another Online theatre production. 8 actors. 1980s fashion. The quality of these online theatre shows has improved. Each actor has a slightly different background to reflect their view of the set.
The 2 main character women were often in opposing colors to reflect their incompatible personalities. If one was in a pale color, the other was in a dark color. If one was in red, the other was in blue. Olive is rather messy and casual, and Florence is uptight and tidy.
The 2 men were dressed in Miami vice style looks, pale blazers with the sleeves rolled up, worn over a t-shirt, with sunglasses, chain necklaces, and watches.
One of the other friends is said to be dating, and so she is often wearing bright 80s party clothing. And one of the other friends is a NYC Cop, and so she was always wearing a police uniform.
Given the pandemic, we collected their size measurements in an online production meeting, bought some items and collected some from costume storage, and took photos of the costumes. Then had a 2nd online production meeting to show the actors the pictures of their costumes. And later someone delivers a box of the props/costumes/backgrounds/ring lights to the actors homes. In many ways it’s easier to do this type of show, because it reduces the amount of time commitment. We’re only doing costumes for their torso, so we didn’t do fittings, alterations, or in-person measurements. The backgrounds are all posters, so there isn’t a set to build, the lights are all ring-lights. There’s minimal choreography, and very few props [game board pieces, food, drinks].
This play is about an high-strung uptight lady in the middle of a divorce, who’s moved in with a sloppy friend.
Another Online theatre production. 8 actors. 1980s fashion. The quality of these online theatre shows has improved. Each actor has a slightly different background to reflect their view of the set.
The 2 main character women were often in opposing colors to reflect their incompatible personalities. If one was in a pale color, the other was in a dark color. If one was in red, the other was in blue. Olive is rather messy and casual, and Florence is uptight and tidy.
The 2 men were dressed in Miami vice style looks, pale blazers with the sleeves rolled up, worn over a t-shirt, with sunglasses, chain necklaces, and watches.
One of the other friends is said to be dating, and so she is often wearing bright 80s party clothing. And one of the other friends is a NYC Cop, and so she was always wearing a police uniform.
Given the pandemic, we collected their size measurements in an online production meeting, bought some items and collected some from costume storage, and took photos of the costumes. Then had a 2nd online production meeting to show the actors the pictures of their costumes. And later someone delivers a box of the props/costumes/backgrounds/ring lights to the actors homes. In many ways it’s easier to do this type of show, because it reduces the amount of time commitment. We’re only doing costumes for their torso, so we didn’t do fittings, alterations, or in-person measurements. The backgrounds are all posters, so there isn’t a set to build, the lights are all ring-lights. There’s minimal choreography, and very few props [game board pieces, food, drinks].
Meanwhile: In theatre related news. 2020.
I was on a costume designer discussion panel where we did a presentation and talked about the theatrical process of costume design with a local theatre web series. It was about 90 minutes long, and there is a video on youtube. The other panelist is currently on the theatre Board, and was a more more effective speaker than I was, so she did most of the in depth talking about ethical / inclusiveness, and I mostly talked about my own personal experiences.
The basic idea of costume design is that :
Theatrical Costumes convey time and place and mood. They communicate the details of a character's personality to the audience, and help actors transform into new and believable characters.
As I read the script for the first time, I'll make a chart of all the characters, and mark which scenes they’re in, and what they should approximately be dressed for in each scene [their status or occupation]. After that, I’ll think about the style and mood of the show, and how I could portray a character's essence with their clothing.
Then I’ll do a lot of Research on the setting [time/place/status/situation] of the shows individual characters and try and find those types of costumes. Once rehearsals start, I’ll get the cast measurements, and I can start assigning costume pieces for each character. I’ll pull items from the theatres costume storage, and I’ll shop and rent, and when necessary, I’ll sew and build a lot of specialty pieces that are harder to find.
Once I have all the items needed for the show, which is usually multiple costumes per actor, and their accessories. Then we do some Costume Fittings and Alterations. And once the show opens, there’s also laundry, ironing, and maintenance. And budget.
The costumes have to be usable, wearable, functional with the choreography, easy to put on and take off, and look correct for the mood and style of the show.
During the discussion panel, I talked about the many specialty builds that I’ve made over the years: quick change outfits, Muppet heads, animal costumes, and props.
See Below: ANN. LASC. 2021.
The most unexpected project of the season was making a single white women's skirt suit in a hurry for a zoom show going up in 4 weeks. I made it in 2weeks, but then had to drive back and forth several times for minor alterations after each fitting. It was a 1 woman show about a spunky Texas lady politician. playwrite: Holland Taylor
The most unexpected project of the season was making a single white women's skirt suit in a hurry for a zoom show going up in 4 weeks. I made it in 2weeks, but then had to drive back and forth several times for minor alterations after each fitting. It was a 1 woman show about a spunky Texas lady politician. playwrite: Holland Taylor
See Below: West Side Story. SHS. 2021. Pandemic showcase, pre-recorded.
Not the whole show, just 5 songs. 10 actors. They prerecorded the songs in studio , then they filmed the scenes.
One gang in mostly blues and greens, the other in mostly reds. Maria in a pale mint color. I did alterations on a few petticoats and bought a few dresses. Most of the actors wore casual plaid button shirts, jeans/capris, character shoes/converse sneakers.
Not the whole show, just 5 songs. 10 actors. They prerecorded the songs in studio , then they filmed the scenes.
One gang in mostly blues and greens, the other in mostly reds. Maria in a pale mint color. I did alterations on a few petticoats and bought a few dresses. Most of the actors wore casual plaid button shirts, jeans/capris, character shoes/converse sneakers.
See Below: Alice in Quarantine. SHS. 2021.
A new play, pandemic themed Alice in Wonderland, outdoors / socially distanced / masked. A drive-thru theatrical experience, where the audience drives thru campus, stopping at 9 places for 5minute scenes with different small groups of actors. We're all vey impressed with the set designer. A youth production. Most of the costumes were bought/pulled from stock. Items made by us for this specific show were: the caterpillar, a Joker playing card poncho, a Duchess hat, a Queen of Hearts hat, a lizard tail, and a deformed rag doll. Along with ALL the actors masks.
A new play, pandemic themed Alice in Wonderland, outdoors / socially distanced / masked. A drive-thru theatrical experience, where the audience drives thru campus, stopping at 9 places for 5minute scenes with different small groups of actors. We're all vey impressed with the set designer. A youth production. Most of the costumes were bought/pulled from stock. Items made by us for this specific show were: the caterpillar, a Joker playing card poncho, a Duchess hat, a Queen of Hearts hat, a lizard tail, and a deformed rag doll. Along with ALL the actors masks.
Also, See below: I also taught a sewing class to the theatre tech kids. We made PJ bottoms. Most of the students finished in 2 hours.
See Below: The Outdoor Office. PVTC. 2021.
A show about an Outdoor Office. Middle school production, 12 actors. A summer camp event. Some actors wore semi-professional office clothing, others wore outerwear. I provided most of them with at least 1 article of clothing (a jacket or pants). We’re still in the covid-cautious phase of the reopening, so the cast and crew wore masks the whole time, and the whole production took place outdoors. The show was originally planned to be totally online, but we got the green light to do in-person. The cast wrote the 25minute comedy play themselves.
A show about an Outdoor Office. Middle school production, 12 actors. A summer camp event. Some actors wore semi-professional office clothing, others wore outerwear. I provided most of them with at least 1 article of clothing (a jacket or pants). We’re still in the covid-cautious phase of the reopening, so the cast and crew wore masks the whole time, and the whole production took place outdoors. The show was originally planned to be totally online, but we got the green light to do in-person. The cast wrote the 25minute comedy play themselves.
See Below: You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. FMT. 2021.
Cartoony musical with 11 in the cast. I made 4 ensemble dresses from scratch in the same style as the dresses we had rented. Bright colors with black trims, collars, frilly hems. I added a zig-zag stripe to a yellow polo for Charlie, and did up 5 yellow hoodies for Woodstock bird dancers. I also made 5 oversized cartoon baseball hats. And I bought a bunch of other things: the Beethoven Day shirt, some striped men’s shirts, a bunch of colored socks, and black Mary Jane shoes. I also sewed some black edge to the dancers blankets, and made a wire scarf for Snoopy.
It was a nice way to ease into the theatre world again after the pandemic year. The show is based on the Peanuts characters so their costumes are already well known, and we had rented a few of things to get us started.
Cartoony musical with 11 in the cast. I made 4 ensemble dresses from scratch in the same style as the dresses we had rented. Bright colors with black trims, collars, frilly hems. I added a zig-zag stripe to a yellow polo for Charlie, and did up 5 yellow hoodies for Woodstock bird dancers. I also made 5 oversized cartoon baseball hats. And I bought a bunch of other things: the Beethoven Day shirt, some striped men’s shirts, a bunch of colored socks, and black Mary Jane shoes. I also sewed some black edge to the dancers blankets, and made a wire scarf for Snoopy.
It was a nice way to ease into the theatre world again after the pandemic year. The show is based on the Peanuts characters so their costumes are already well known, and we had rented a few of things to get us started.
See Below: The Literari Awards. SHS. 2021.
A middle school production. 40 characters from book or comic, all attending a fictional awards show. Most of the normal/historical costumes are things we had in stock, and all the comic characters were newly purchased.
Fittings were a headache because of a complicated rehearsal schedule, the work was spread over a few days.
A middle school production. 40 characters from book or comic, all attending a fictional awards show. Most of the normal/historical costumes are things we had in stock, and all the comic characters were newly purchased.
Fittings were a headache because of a complicated rehearsal schedule, the work was spread over a few days.
See photos below : Book of Will. Foothill Theatre Arts. 11/2021.
This show was supposed to be an easy show. I thought I could pull everything I needed from the stock. Renaissance style jackets over theatre blacks, but oddly enough, after checking with 6 different theatre costume houses, not one had enough renaissance stuff to do it (in the correct sizes/styles), probably because the renaissance faire is in town. I ended up making a dozen things myself: 6 men’s jackets, 1 fancy lady dress, 2 bodices, 3 skirts, 7 hats, 4 aprons, 10 cape/cloaks, a satchel. I am very good at making doublets now. The show looks realistic in the middle-class clothing, no one is unrealistically glitzy, the younger characters are in brighter colors: burnt orange, blue, mauve, the older characters are in darker colors: burgundy, grey, grey-purple, muted green, black, tan.
Show photos by David Allen.
This show was supposed to be an easy show. I thought I could pull everything I needed from the stock. Renaissance style jackets over theatre blacks, but oddly enough, after checking with 6 different theatre costume houses, not one had enough renaissance stuff to do it (in the correct sizes/styles), probably because the renaissance faire is in town. I ended up making a dozen things myself: 6 men’s jackets, 1 fancy lady dress, 2 bodices, 3 skirts, 7 hats, 4 aprons, 10 cape/cloaks, a satchel. I am very good at making doublets now. The show looks realistic in the middle-class clothing, no one is unrealistically glitzy, the younger characters are in brighter colors: burnt orange, blue, mauve, the older characters are in darker colors: burgundy, grey, grey-purple, muted green, black, tan.
Show photos by David Allen.
Photos below: Eurydice. SHS. 2021.
A tragedy with 18 in the cast. Some scenes are in the land of the living, but mostly it was set in the grey afterlife. I was tasked with making 3 stone people costumes out of foam. I made long vests out of upholstery foam and painted them, then highlighted with acrylic, and then learned that the actors were seated the whole show, so I cut their costumes in half. I also made hats out of expanding foam. I did my best to make everything in the afterlife a shade of grey.
There was a large movement ensemble which act as scenery extras in the underworld. Various outfits in the same grey color, a few suits, and some brighter colored dresses for the land of the living.
A tragedy with 18 in the cast. Some scenes are in the land of the living, but mostly it was set in the grey afterlife. I was tasked with making 3 stone people costumes out of foam. I made long vests out of upholstery foam and painted them, then highlighted with acrylic, and then learned that the actors were seated the whole show, so I cut their costumes in half. I also made hats out of expanding foam. I did my best to make everything in the afterlife a shade of grey.
There was a large movement ensemble which act as scenery extras in the underworld. Various outfits in the same grey color, a few suits, and some brighter colored dresses for the land of the living.
Photos Below: ROE. LASC. 2022.
The story of the Roe v. Wade plaintiff and lawyer, from the 1970s thru the 1990s. Mostly thrifted costumes: suits, blouses, jackets, shoes. A maid, Doctors, Nurse, Pharmacist, Judges, Church choir. Special pieces include: a quick change pregnancy shirt (split up the back with the pillow sewn in), bell bottoms, and vintage styled Wigs.
The story of the Roe v. Wade plaintiff and lawyer, from the 1970s thru the 1990s. Mostly thrifted costumes: suits, blouses, jackets, shoes. A maid, Doctors, Nurse, Pharmacist, Judges, Church choir. Special pieces include: a quick change pregnancy shirt (split up the back with the pillow sewn in), bell bottoms, and vintage styled Wigs.
Photos Below: Legally Blonde. SHS. 2022.
Huge cast of 43 in this show. Main character has 8 outfit changes; a quick-change in a department store from 1 dress into another, a tracksuit, a pink 1st day of school outfit, a hooters/playboy bunny costume, a school outfit, a court room dark suit, a pink court dress (and a few jackets). Some nice suits for court, and some salon friends, 13 orange prison scrubs, 19 all white outfits for the Greek Chorus, 19 blue cheer/marching band uniforms. A judge, a cop, a UPS guy. The prisoners scrubs were the most expensive thing.
Huge cast of 43 in this show. Main character has 8 outfit changes; a quick-change in a department store from 1 dress into another, a tracksuit, a pink 1st day of school outfit, a hooters/playboy bunny costume, a school outfit, a court room dark suit, a pink court dress (and a few jackets). Some nice suits for court, and some salon friends, 13 orange prison scrubs, 19 all white outfits for the Greek Chorus, 19 blue cheer/marching band uniforms. A judge, a cop, a UPS guy. The prisoners scrubs were the most expensive thing.
Photos Below: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. FMT. 2022.
They relaunched this show which was previously cut short because of the Pandemic lockdown.
I'm Still a part time employee of this theatre, so I was the Assistant Costume Designer on this show. A murder mystery in the Dickens era, with a pick-your-own ending. I assisted, meaning that I didn't select any of the outfits myself, but I did do alterations and laundry. Several of the original actors couldn't make it back, so their parts were recasted, and their outfits were re done.
They relaunched this show which was previously cut short because of the Pandemic lockdown.
I'm Still a part time employee of this theatre, so I was the Assistant Costume Designer on this show. A murder mystery in the Dickens era, with a pick-your-own ending. I assisted, meaning that I didn't select any of the outfits myself, but I did do alterations and laundry. Several of the original actors couldn't make it back, so their parts were recasted, and their outfits were re done.
Photos Below: Mary Poppins. SHS. 2022.
A large youth cast. I rented 3-4 dresses, and purchased several more items. Cute show, and a very nice set design. The parents were pleased. But it had ridiculously large ensemble dance numbers: 12 bees, 12 statues, 12 bankers, 12 chimney sweeps, townspeople.
A large youth cast. I rented 3-4 dresses, and purchased several more items. Cute show, and a very nice set design. The parents were pleased. But it had ridiculously large ensemble dance numbers: 12 bees, 12 statues, 12 bankers, 12 chimney sweeps, townspeople.
Photos Below: I taught a 2hr sewing class to the theatre tech students. PJ pants.
Photos Below: Romeo and Juliet. SVS. 2022.
The same classic tragedy story, but with lesbians, in modern dress, inspired by a southern country club. 6 suits, some sports wear tennis/horse riding outfits, floral blouses, lots of polo shirts, fencing outfits. This production was outdoors. I only had to make 2-3 things for the show, but because it was outdoors, everything got filthy.
The same classic tragedy story, but with lesbians, in modern dress, inspired by a southern country club. 6 suits, some sports wear tennis/horse riding outfits, floral blouses, lots of polo shirts, fencing outfits. This production was outdoors. I only had to make 2-3 things for the show, but because it was outdoors, everything got filthy.
Photos Below: Squirrel Girl Goes to College. PVTC. 2022.
A summer camp production about a superhero teen fighting Dr.Doom and MODOC, while being a college student, and having an animal sidekick. It was a silly show. I made 10 squirrel tail backpacks on fanny packs, a dozen squirrel ear headbands, the MODOC helmet, a utility belt, some custom 'Kick Butts Eat Nuts" t-shirts, and a few capes. Bought the Dr.Doom mask.
A summer camp production about a superhero teen fighting Dr.Doom and MODOC, while being a college student, and having an animal sidekick. It was a silly show. I made 10 squirrel tail backpacks on fanny packs, a dozen squirrel ear headbands, the MODOC helmet, a utility belt, some custom 'Kick Butts Eat Nuts" t-shirts, and a few capes. Bought the Dr.Doom mask.
Photos Below: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. LASC. 2022
About an autistic teen solving a local crime, but uncovering an even larger mystery. The trickiest part was that the background was all made with projectors, mostly line drawings in blues and purples, so the actors were mostly limited to wearing shades of beige/grey/black/green. The main character wore red (shirts/hoodie/vest). 3 police characters, 1 priest, teachers, parents, neighbors, train station employees, and travelers.
About an autistic teen solving a local crime, but uncovering an even larger mystery. The trickiest part was that the background was all made with projectors, mostly line drawings in blues and purples, so the actors were mostly limited to wearing shades of beige/grey/black/green. The main character wore red (shirts/hoodie/vest). 3 police characters, 1 priest, teachers, parents, neighbors, train station employees, and travelers.
Photos Below: The Addams Family. SHS. 2022
A musical comedy where Wednesday invites her 'normal' boyfriend and his parents over for dinner. As with most Youth Productions, there was a large ensemble. All the ghostly Ancestors were dressed in shades of grey, which involved dying lots of white things grey, or spraying lots of brown-ish things pale. A Bride, a Clown, a Sailor, a Flapper, a Latin Dancer, a Cheerleader, a Pilot, a Chef, a Scientist, a Matador, Pilgrim, Rockstar, Cowboy, TennisPlayer, PromQueen, ect, ect. I made Morticias dress, Festers swimsuit, the stilt pants for Lurch, and sacrificed one of my masks to make festers bald cap with ears.
A musical comedy where Wednesday invites her 'normal' boyfriend and his parents over for dinner. As with most Youth Productions, there was a large ensemble. All the ghostly Ancestors were dressed in shades of grey, which involved dying lots of white things grey, or spraying lots of brown-ish things pale. A Bride, a Clown, a Sailor, a Flapper, a Latin Dancer, a Cheerleader, a Pilot, a Chef, a Scientist, a Matador, Pilgrim, Rockstar, Cowboy, TennisPlayer, PromQueen, ect, ect. I made Morticias dress, Festers swimsuit, the stilt pants for Lurch, and sacrificed one of my masks to make festers bald cap with ears.
Photos Below: The Birds. 2022. Foothill Theatre Arts.
I am still the in-house Wardrobe helper employee at the FH theatre.
I spent the month doing alterations and laundry for a wacky comedy show about a sentient Bird community forming their own city, which gains popularity too quickly and gets ruined by greed. Characters include: real-estate agents, politicians, superheros, country singers, pastors, comedians, ect.. I made the bird beak googles.
I am still the in-house Wardrobe helper employee at the FH theatre.
I spent the month doing alterations and laundry for a wacky comedy show about a sentient Bird community forming their own city, which gains popularity too quickly and gets ruined by greed. Characters include: real-estate agents, politicians, superheros, country singers, pastors, comedians, ect.. I made the bird beak googles.
Photos Below: Sound of Music. SHS. 2023.
The Sound of Music is based on the true story of an exuberant young governess who brings music and joy back to a broken family, only to face danger and intrigue in an evolving political landscape. 15 nuns, 6 postulants. 3-4 Nazi-ish uniforms. The nuns doubled as party guests. The 7 children had about 5 costumes each. Maria had about 8 costumes: a postulant, ugly dress, nightgown, nicer dress for party, country dress, wedding dress, married woman dress, festival dress.
The Sound of Music is based on the true story of an exuberant young governess who brings music and joy back to a broken family, only to face danger and intrigue in an evolving political landscape. 15 nuns, 6 postulants. 3-4 Nazi-ish uniforms. The nuns doubled as party guests. The 7 children had about 5 costumes each. Maria had about 8 costumes: a postulant, ugly dress, nightgown, nicer dress for party, country dress, wedding dress, married woman dress, festival dress.
Photos Below: The Spitfire Grill. SBMT. 2023.
The musical depicts the journey of a young woman just released from prison, who decides to start her life anew in a rural town in Wisconsin. She participates in a journey within the town toward its own tenuous reawakening. Mostly normal clothing, lots of flannel. The most expensive thing was the (optional) 6 Prisoner outfits. The story takes place over a year winter to spring to summer. So everyone had ~4 layer looks, ranging in warmth, T-shirts, flannel, light jacket, puffer jacket/scarves. 1 Sheriff.
The musical depicts the journey of a young woman just released from prison, who decides to start her life anew in a rural town in Wisconsin. She participates in a journey within the town toward its own tenuous reawakening. Mostly normal clothing, lots of flannel. The most expensive thing was the (optional) 6 Prisoner outfits. The story takes place over a year winter to spring to summer. So everyone had ~4 layer looks, ranging in warmth, T-shirts, flannel, light jacket, puffer jacket/scarves. 1 Sheriff.
Photos Below: Into The Woods. 2023.
I am a part-time theatre tech employee at Foothill. So I was the wardrobe supervisor for this show, not the costume designer.
I am a part-time theatre tech employee at Foothill. So I was the wardrobe supervisor for this show, not the costume designer.
Photos Below: Brothers Grimm Spectaulathon. SHS. 2023.
A sketch comedy show featuring the characters from Brothers Grimm fairytales. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are turned on their heads in this fast-paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 stories ranging from classics like Snow White, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel to more bizarre, obscure stories like The Devil's Grandmother and The Girl Without Hands. A wild, free-form comedy with lots of audience participation and madcap fun.
I made a few Dwarf hats, and a few capes for Little Red and the Devil. Bought some crab claws, a frog hat, some prince coats and crowns.
A sketch comedy show featuring the characters from Brothers Grimm fairytales. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are turned on their heads in this fast-paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 stories ranging from classics like Snow White, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel to more bizarre, obscure stories like The Devil's Grandmother and The Girl Without Hands. A wild, free-form comedy with lots of audience participation and madcap fun.
I made a few Dwarf hats, and a few capes for Little Red and the Devil. Bought some crab claws, a frog hat, some prince coats and crowns.
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Photos Below: Into The Woods. 2023. SHP.
It seems to be the year of INTO THE WOODS. Everyone seems to be doing it, I tried borrowing the cow, but it had already been lent out to someone else, so I built the 2 cow puppets myself. I did the costumes for this show. The 2 princes wore the same outfits in different colors, the 2 step sisters did the same, Jack and his mother wore similar colors, little red and her granny wore similar fabrics, ect.
I also took the official photos for the show, and the pictures were used in the official press. www.smdailyjournal.com
It seems to be the year of INTO THE WOODS. Everyone seems to be doing it, I tried borrowing the cow, but it had already been lent out to someone else, so I built the 2 cow puppets myself. I did the costumes for this show. The 2 princes wore the same outfits in different colors, the 2 step sisters did the same, Jack and his mother wore similar colors, little red and her granny wore similar fabrics, ect.
I also took the official photos for the show, and the pictures were used in the official press. www.smdailyjournal.com
Photos Below: Infinite Black Suitcase. FHTA.
I was not the costumer for this show, I was wardrobe. The show was a drama. The story of one day in a small Oregon town and three families who are trying, in the most loving and human ways, to deal with death and dying.
I was not the costumer for this show, I was wardrobe. The show was a drama. The story of one day in a small Oregon town and three families who are trying, in the most loving and human ways, to deal with death and dying.
Photos Below: Into The Woods. 2023. LAYT.
This is my 2nd or 3rd time doing Into The Woods this year, so I got to reuse many of the costumes.
new items, made just for this show: I made the 2 Witch costumes, Cinderellas Tree-mom accessories, Jacks Mothers fancy blouse/skirt, and 2-3 aprons.
This is my 2nd or 3rd time doing Into The Woods this year, so I got to reuse many of the costumes.
new items, made just for this show: I made the 2 Witch costumes, Cinderellas Tree-mom accessories, Jacks Mothers fancy blouse/skirt, and 2-3 aprons.
Photos Below: ELF the Musical. 2023. SHS. youth.
Costumes for this show were a bit more expensive than anticipated because of the large number of child sized north pole elves. A huge chunk in NYC is just normal clothing, plus coats and scarves. There are a number of specific characters named in the script: flyer guy, souvlaki vendor, salvation army bellringer, ice skaters, a reporter, 2 cops, 2 security guards, ect.
The most challenging part of this show was the sheer quality of outfits needed for different scenes. There were 15 Santas, 15 Mall employee elves, 20 office workers, 15 ice skaters, 25 North Pole elves, ect.
I made the Buddy costume, and the Macys elf aprons, and the North Pole elf hats, and decorated the North Pole elf dresses with iron-on snowflakes and bows.
Costumes for this show were a bit more expensive than anticipated because of the large number of child sized north pole elves. A huge chunk in NYC is just normal clothing, plus coats and scarves. There are a number of specific characters named in the script: flyer guy, souvlaki vendor, salvation army bellringer, ice skaters, a reporter, 2 cops, 2 security guards, ect.
The most challenging part of this show was the sheer quality of outfits needed for different scenes. There were 15 Santas, 15 Mall employee elves, 20 office workers, 15 ice skaters, 25 North Pole elves, ect.
I made the Buddy costume, and the Macys elf aprons, and the North Pole elf hats, and decorated the North Pole elf dresses with iron-on snowflakes and bows.
Photos Below: Elf the Musical. 2023. LASC.
Yes, I did this show twice in the same month, a few weeks apart, so I could reuse a few Santa suits and shirts. But mostly it was a whole different experience. There was only 16 actors in this production, so everyone was in basically every scene, which meant a lot of quick changes. Aside from the main family and Santa, everyone was a North Pole elf, everyone was a NYC street person, everyone was a mall employee, everyone was a santa, and everyone was an office worker. I rented the North Pole elves and Buddys costume from a different theatre.
Yes, I did this show twice in the same month, a few weeks apart, so I could reuse a few Santa suits and shirts. But mostly it was a whole different experience. There was only 16 actors in this production, so everyone was in basically every scene, which meant a lot of quick changes. Aside from the main family and Santa, everyone was a North Pole elf, everyone was a NYC street person, everyone was a mall employee, everyone was a santa, and everyone was an office worker. I rented the North Pole elves and Buddys costume from a different theatre.
Photos Below: 12th Night. 2024. SHS.
modern day costume.
modern day costume.
Sally Cottle. 2024. SHS