Costume Shop

Okay, it’s Alexandra, now it’s time to take you into the costume shop. In my exploration of Tibbits Summer Theatre, understanding where the lovely costumes come from strikes me as another interesting topic to give you a fuller understanding of what you see on stage.

I had no idea what to expect the first time I went to help in the costume shop, it turns out the department has two of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. The sincere and hard working designers making the costumes this summer are Erin Tucker and Theresa Hartman. They are both crazy busy with work this summer. Normally, two designers split the main stage shows and one person gets the children’s theater. This year there are two people for all of the shows.

As I looked about the basement full of clothes, I wondered if they make all of the costumes new for the shows. Theresa said most of the costumes come from existing things that are altered and just a few are made from scratch. Theresa happened to be making a red dress from scratch that day. She said it all depends upon what’s needed and the time they’re given.

With all this work to do, I asked what kind of hours Theresa and Erin work. Generally they work a 9-5 job, but sometimes they come back and work between 7-10 pm. After watching them perform a fitting or two, they were ready to assign me a job. My first job was to sweep the floors. I swept along and every few feet, bent over to pick up the endless amount of dropped pins. I quickly realized even the simplest task wasn’t going to be easy.

Job number two was taking the pile of clothes off the floor and putting them all on hangers. It was actually very enjoyable; it was neat to see all of the different items which inhabit the costume shop. My last job was organizing the wall of purses, clutches and jewelry. This was awesome. I’ve never seen such an array of bags and jewelry. I was up and down off of a folding chair and smiling every minute. My respect for Erin and Theresa grew with every up down on the folding chair.

These two work extra hard during the summer, then go back to school and study for the rest of the year. I had fun in the costume shop and it has been a joy sharing my experiences with you.

ErinTucker, Costume designer for Crazy for You and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, provided the basic steps to creating costumes for a show:
1. Script reading (understanding the show, the characters, their costume needs)
2. Meeting with the director (learning the director’s vision for the show)
3. Historical research and renderings (understanding and creating a visual base for the costumes)
4. Pulling and building (using the costumes in the shop as a base for creating the costumes and fitting them for each character)

5. Dress rehearsals (Seeing how the costumes work for each character, how they play together on stage, and making minor adjustments)

Shown above: Rendering of the chorus girls’ costumes for Crazy for You - Erin’s unique design featured reversible bodices which allowed for quick changes and multiple looks.

Rehearsal

Hi, it’s Alexandra again. This time I’m delving into the rehearsal process. I feel learning a little bit more about the process will help everyone appreciate the shows even more. So I attended a rehearsal of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the rehearsals. It turned out to be a different but wonderful experience. When I walked into the gym at Pansophia Academy, the cast was hard at work blocking the day’s scenes. Blocking is the creation and practicing of the movement that is going to happen on stage. As I began to watch their rehearsal, I was quickly surprised by how collaborative the process was. The actors clearly felt free to put in their ideas and usually they would try the ideas out. Erin Tucker, the show’s costumer, was filling in as Stage Manager; she said the rehearsal process doesn’t normally have as much collaboration. She elaborated, saying since there's less dancing in the show Ray Gabica, the director, allows a lot of collaboration.

The blocking seemed to be going at a break- neck pace. Erin said it always goes quickly but it seemed to be going extra fast with this show. The actors and actresses picked up on the blocking in no time. It seemed every time they ran a song, the bold acting choices became bigger and better. Each time they would find a new facial expression or body movement to make their character even more full and rich. Their concentration levels were very high but at the same time they all looked as if they were having fun. I noticed that even when somebody would mess up, the director would just turn and say, “That’s what rehearsals are for, to screw up so you don’t do it in a performance.”

As the rehearsal progressed, I began to wonder when musical director Cheryl Vanduzen receives her music. I was surprised when she said she receives it only about a week before rehearsals start. She spends the first day and half working with the performers on musical notes in their songs. She doesn’t have her first practice with the pit orchestra until Saturday, the end of the rehearsal week. She rehearses with the pit again on Sunday. Finally on Monday, Cheryl will have her first rehearsal with both the pit orchestra and the performers. The cast and crew will continue to work the show for the rest of the week, until the Thursday afternoon opening. Only with the audience in their seats, is the show finally complete.

It seemed crazy to me how actors and actresses could learn a show so quickly. Why, wouldn’t they need an unending amount of practice time? I asked how long each day the cast practices and was very surprised by the answer. The rehearsal day goes from 10 am -1 pm, lunch break 1-2, rehearsal 2-5, dinner break 5-7, and rehearsal 7-10pm. They literally practice all day and are ready in 11 days. It pays off with outstanding performances.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the crazy fast pace of rehearsal. You can think about it when you come to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Next time we’ll give you the insight into the quick sewing designers in the costume shop.