Costume Design

Costume Designer

• Design costumes or selects them from rental spaces• Works closely with the actors to determine movement needs• Must be aware of:

• Character style and personality• Mood• Design and style of the era• Character relationships• Safety

Vocabulary• Costume Plot-plot of all character costumes, with location and provided

information• Costume Rendering-drawing of costume design using color• Fabric Swatch-small sample of fabric selection for costumes• Cutter/Draper- is responsible for actually translating the designer’s sketches into

reality• First hand-to supervise the construction of the costumes• Stitchers-operate the sewing machines and do the hand sewing that pieces the

costumes together• Wardrobe supervisor-responsible for all costumes and accessories

Costume Development

• There are three different ways a costume is created for a production• Rental: the theatre rents costumes from a costume shop• Reuse: costume shops use materials and stock to create a new

piece• Build: construct a costume from scratch

The production budget for the Broadway musical Wicked was $42 million

The bubble dress for Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked is worth approximately $35,000. The costume was built from scratch and includes thousands of beads and sequins that were hand stitched.The main dress for the Wicked Witch is worth approximately $20,00.

COSTUME FYI

Costume Design DemandsBeauty and the Beast-Shrek the Musical

Costume Needs

• Costumes used in theatre or dance performances often need to serve multiple purposes• At times an actor may need to change costume quickly or on stage

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcP1cV3nBZI

• If a costume is being used in a musical or dance number, the costume cannot hinder the actor

• The costume must be durable, shows on Broadway can run up to 10 times in a week

• The costume must be safe for the actor

Costume PlotCHARACTER Pg. 1 Pg. 23 Pg. 25 Pg. 40Bob T-shirt, shorts,

sandalsSuit

Susan Dress Shirt, SkirtDaniel SuitAmy Shirt, shorts

Rendering

Costume Projectwith Sorry Wrong Number partner

• Create a costume plot including:• All characters• Costume change locations (page #’s)• Specific costume information

• Create a rendering for:• Every character• 1 costume with color

• Research to support costume choices• 1940’s clothing• Cite your sources