So you are new to wearing costumes in a production and It’s exciting and you can’t wait to wear it and see what it looks like. Theater lends itself to allowing actors to become another person and completely inhabit their character. The costume is integral to the character within a production in more ways than one. However, as an actor, we need to learn how important the costume is and how to take care of them. We also need to learn the etiquette of costumes. This post covers the dos and don’ts of wearing costumes and how to take care of them behind the scenes.
Do Turn Up on Time to Your Costume Fitting
When the producer or stage manager gives you time to come in and get fitted for your costume please attend on the time given. Try not to be too early or late, because the costume designer or fitter will probably have a set timetable for the cast to come in and they may have the costumes ready in a set order.
Don’t get a reputation for being late or too early, it will be hard to shake off in future rehearsals, show-times and even auditions you might want to take with the same company again.
Make sure you are wearing body deodorant and or are clean and not smelly. You don’t want to leave your BO smell on the costume and or the dressing room for fellow cast members to smell.
Do Let the Costume Maker Know If You Need Adjustments
If your costumes don’t quite fit, please tell the costume maker or designer the issues you have, so they can make adjustments where necessary. Don’t pretend you’re comfortable with a costume when you are not. But don’t be a drama queen expecting them to drop everything and fix your problem when you click a finger.
Don’t Eat With Your Costume on
Taking care of your costume you should never eat when you are wearing your costume, this is a big no-no. Apart from being in poor form, an actor should take off the costume or wear a dressing gown. But permission to eat with a dressing gown on must be sought by the costume mistress or master. If you do eat with your costume on, you risk getting for and or drink on it. Try not to risk spoiling your costume.
Don’t Go Out in Public Before the Show Begins
Actors should not go out in public to go to the store and or have fun showing off their costumes to friends and family before their performance or show has taken place. You risk spoiling the illusions to any potential audience members and that is a no-no. If you need to leave rehearsals, then take off your costume and go out in your normal clothes.
Do Know Your Quick Costume Changes
These can be very frantic behind the scenes. This needs to be thought out and rehearsed by the actor and or their dressers behind the scenes. Enough rehearsal space must be given so that the actor has enough time to change and play their new role or different scene. If you are an actor, do everything you can to help the dressers. You might need to layer different parts of costumes underneath the previous costume. Ensure you are wearing skin-colored underwear and or undergarments that suit your costume or will not distract the audience (if seen).
Do Tell if Something Goes Wrong with Your Costume?
If something does go wrong, such as a button pops off, stitching rips or you get a mark on your costume, you need to let the costume mistress or master know asap. They will usually have spare cotton and needles and cleaning gear with them. They have been through problems like this many times, and they will improvise ways to help you as the actor.
You are best not to fix this yourself unless you absolutely know what you are doing. However, the costume mistress or master wants you to see them, not to fix it yourself unless you do know what you’re doing. If this is a professional production they must be told immediately.
Do Keep Your Costume Neat and Tidy
When you are not wearing your costume, you must hang on a hanger (which is usual) and not let it stay on the ground. Your costumes designers, producers, and or stage managers will not be happy seeing costumes discarded on the ground. If it is your job to make sure your costume is set, then you must remember to do this every night of your performance. If you have a quick change of costume, you must ensure all of your costumes are set before the show starts. This can be in conjunction with your dressers and or the stage manager.
If you have wigs or accessories, please make sure they are with your costume (sometimes in a bag that comes with your main costume or leave in a place where you will find it again the next day. Place wigs back in their mannequin heads before you leave to go home.
Also please tidy your dressing room from any rubbish, cups and remove things which should be there. This is a good costume etiquette.
Do Wear Your Costume As it Should Be Worn
If you are given a certain item or accessory, and you don’t like it, please do not change it for something else without asking for permission from the costume managers. Remember to wear all your costume attire because your costume designer went to a lot of trouble to make your character look a certain way.
Do Take Off Your Own Jewelry when Wearing Costumes
Most of the time when working on stage and or on film, you need to take off your own personal jewelry. If you’re playing a single woman and you’re wearing a wedding ring, this doesn’t match up. If you have difficulty taking off a ring, put a flesh colored band aid over it or tape so make it look more realistic.
No personal earring, necklaces, bracelets or nose rings.
Don’t Touch Other Performer’s Costume, Makeup or Accessories
If you do fiddle with other people’s things, if something goes missing you might be the one who fingers will point at. But at the very least, you don’t want to break anything, or mark a costume, especially which isn’t yours. Plus you don’t want to lose any items which aren’t yours either.
Don’t Play Around with the Props Associated with your Costume
Leave the props and use them as they should be used. Do not use the mask as a cup for drinking water. (Yes this actually happened with one show I staged managed). Do not commandare other people’s props and costumes to pull pranks. This can put off the actor during the performance and cause them to lose their character on stage. In the professional world, this is definitely a no no.
Author’s Experiences with Costume Fails
Author: I have gone out in my costume as a young performer halftime during a show and got scolded by the costume department as rightly I should have. I had no idea I wasn’t meant to go out in my costume. I thought I looked cool and wanted the public to love me in my costume…ah yes, this was a big cotu
As a Stage Manager I have also told many young actors to not go out in their costume to their dismay. But hopefully they remember to this day.
I also remember playing Joane in Godspell a musical theater production and went out in my black socks. This was a no no because everyone else was in bare feet. It was Winter and I had completely forgotten to take them off before getting on stage…got told off for that as well.
Many times playing in professional children’s shows I have forgotten to take off my wedding and other rings, but we were lucky in that it was a huge audience who were a long way away from the stage itself. But I also wore flesh colored tape over my rings as well.
I remember in one show with scary zombie-like creatures coming through the trapdoor in the floor, a young woman wearing a perky blonde wig got it swiped off her head while she was snarling at kids. Of course this wasn’t meant to happen, but it was hilarious to watch. She should have fixed the wig in her hair with clips before the show, she probably learned this lesson.
I remember during a dinner theater show I was involved in for four years, one particular part of the show had the main actor talk about ‘safe sex’. So one of the service characters, my boyfriend at the time, decided to draw a person having sex in a safe as a pictures and pasted it into her prop before the show, where she would see it when she opened a book.
Of course this was a prank which everyone knew about. But when she opened the book, saw the picture, she cracked up laughing and lost her character. It was hilarious for us sub-characters to watch. But after we had packed up the show later on in the evening the director gently told us off. He was impressed on us, that we shouldn’t prank professional actors, especially when there are paid audiences coming to see the show.
I learned my lesson never to pull pranks on fellow actors during a show, because it could lead to an actor losing their character and place in the production.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the dos and don’ts of taking care of your costumes in the theater. There are unwritten rules which we learn through experience and due diligence are featured here. I sincerely hope you enjoy your time in theater as it’s a magical artform.
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