Musical Theatre Costume Plan

Building a Costume Plan for musical theatre shows just makes sense. The hardest thing about costuming for amateur theatre is dealing with Directors who aren’t sure what they want. Others think they know what they want and then change their mind as the show progresses. Or, sometimes, communication breaks down and the costume-maker never fully understands what the Director wanted in the first place.

In the past, I have met with the Director and agreed on the costuming. And then, as the first dress rehearsal was nearing, I discovered that what I thought was agreed on was not what the Director had in mind. The result was a lot of stress and scrambling while we tried to correct the costumes. I have found that most of this re-work and stress can be avoided by building, and agreeing on, a solid plan (and budget) from the beginning. 

Work with the Director

I begin by meeting with the Director to get his vision for the show. We review and collect any pictures that he can provide of costumes he has in mind. This helps me understand the director’s vision. After that meeting, I create a plan in a Google Slides document that can be shared among the members of the costume crew and the Director. (Note: Many programs can be used for creating a plan. But I prefer Google Slides to create a free, online document. This can be shared with and edited by multiple people.)

I start the plan with a break-down of the play by act (example on page 2 of the Plan). Then I list each character who appears in that act, along with the actor’s name, a description of the role, and a description of the costume that actor will wear in the act. Sometimes I still need to clarify details of the costume at this point. So I just fill in the available information and leave space for the unknowns. I add any notes that might help me gather further information. At this stage, I also usually highlight any information that is missing, and add notes for the Director with any questions.

Next, I search the internet for examples of costumes/clothing that represent what I think the director has in mind. I pull these pictures into the document under a section labeled “Concept” for each act.  

Find the Pieces

Then, I window-shop (online) to find out if appropriate costume pieces are available at a reasonable price. You can find more information on good, reasonably-priced shopping sources in my blog entry on sourcing costumes. I screen-shot each piece that I find online and add it to the plan in the Act section where that piece will be used. I also copy the page address where the costume piece is found. I add this as a link to the picture. This makes it easy to find the piece again once it has been agreed upon. If I need to alter the garment for use in the show, I add a note to the slide, outlining how I will change the piece.

In the first round, I usually provide multiple choices for any costume piece that isn’t certain. I also note the sizes (see page 19 of the Plan document) for the actors that will be wearing the costume piece. This make ordering easier when the time comes.

Custom Pieces

For any piece I need to create from scratch, I find and include information  about the pattern and fabric that will be needed. This includes a picture of the pattern, along with notes on any changes needed. If I find an appropriate fabric online, I include a linked screenshot of the fabric, along with a calculation of the amount and cost of the fabric. (See the robe on p.15 of the Plan for an example of this.)

Back to the Director

Once the plan is complete, I share it with the Director. I ask him to confirm that the costumes selected follow what he had in mind. I also ask him to make any comments and suggestions as notes in the document. I then review those notes and make any suggested changes or contact the Director for further discussion.  This cycle continues until the Director has approved all costume choices, and then I move on to building the costume budget for the show.