kimono sale

Deciding how to deal with the task of costuming a show is not as easy as it seems at first. How a show looks is important, and it is not just the scenery that affects that. Most directors have some idea about what they want their actors to wear, but some seem unaware that a subtly chosen colour scheme can be a real bonus and add exponentially to the enjoyment of the audience.

It is generally really easy to know when a piece is set. But is this fixed? In my time I have seen 'The Pirates of Penzance' dressed in Victorian clothing, dressed as 1970s bikers and hippies, and with the pirates in sort of shiny spacesuits - and a wide variety of in-between costumes. All worked in their own way. I have seen 'Caucasian Chalk Circle' dressed in 19th Century costume, in a strange mixture of costumes, with the nobility dressed in bright, gaudy colours and the peasants in fustian, and completely modernly costumed. In each case the director and costume designer had obviously thought about it - even to the fact that all the peasants wore something tiny in red (Communism) as a symbol in the first version.

So the audience will notice what people wear. I once saw, to my horror, in a professional production, that the hems of the kimonos worn in 'Pacific Overtures' had been stapled up! (My best guess is that they ran out of time but the effect on my enjoyment was considerable).

So it is good to have an overall vision, a colour scheme, a period. This needs research, which is easily done, but cannot be easily avoided. The Costume Designer should do this, of course, but beware doing it without talking to the Director first! Once some ideas have come together you need to talk. What sort of budget (I hear a hollow laugh) has the costume been allocated. Did anyone discuss it with the Costume Designer first? (More hollow laughter) Are you going to make the costumes, hire the costumes, hope the cast can get their own costumes? Often what happens is a combination of all three methods. Most amateur performers have lots of 'stuff' which they have accumulated over the years. And, of course, it fits them.

So if you decide on a colour scheme and you need the performers' help, you need to let them know in plenty of time. Whether you intend to hire or make you need measurements. This can be a thorny problem since there never seems to be time set apart to do this privately and calmly, and performers never tell the truth about their measurements. This seems to be one of the principles of amateur theatre: if asked for your measurements give those you hope to attain by the performance dates, or those you had ten years ago. It is essential to take a tape measure to people and get their measurements. Measurements taken over clothing are fine (make allowances for what you measured over), and in inches is fine, since anyone can translate these into centimetres with no trouble. Dress sizes do not work - and men's waists are always bigger than they think! In the last show I costumed I was forced to run around a rehearsal room, during a rehearsal, measuring people when I caught them standing still. That worked too.

So what measurements do you need? Well, waist, chest/bust, inside leg, underarm to wrist, across shoulders, shoulders to waist and waist to ankle are usually enough to cover most contingencies. Performers will provide their own shoes (though you may need to remind them the trainers are neither desirable (unless you are doing 'Buddy') nor attractive. Once you have these numbers you are ready to begin. If you are going to use a theatrical costumier this is the point that you will look at the measurements and know that there will never be a suit jacket to fit this person, or a dress for this one.

Then you begin the process of deciding which costumes will have to be made. Paper patterns are terribly expensive; this is when a Costume Designer who can work without patterns becomes important. It is also possible to source basic patterns at cheap material shops, where old patterns are offered at knock-down prices. There shops will also likely give you a discount for bulk fabric purchase. Other sources of materials are jumble sales (garage sales in the US) and thrift shops, where such things as curtains and bedspreads offer large acreages of material for small amounts of money. And, whatever happens, your budget will inevitably look too small.

If the costumes are being made a team of dressmakers will be needed. Members of the cast will often join this party, some preferring to be sure their costume will fit by making it themselves. There is also a team of parents all available to help with this task, but not wanting in any way to be involved in the performance side of things. They should never be ignored - a newsletter to the performers can make the Costume Designer's need clear and volunteers will come forward. It is really useful if someone has a room big enough for people to work together on this task on several weekends. Then no-one runs off on a solitary flight of fancy, you have some hope of consistency and no-one feels they have done too much.

So to summarise: choose a style and colour scheme, measure people, decide on hire, make, or performers' provision, keep individual (performer by performer) lists and tick them off when something is completed, get a team of workers, give yourself plenty of time. And, finally, make sure you know how many costume changes the Director wants the performers to have, and whether your performers need a 'quick-change' costume with fastenings that positively jump apart when needed. This needs to be built into the planning side. If it isn't then the performance may founder while someone is stuck fast in the top of a costume whilst trying to change into the next. Oh, and don't leave the trying on of costumes until the dress rehearsal. Someone, several someones probably, will have gained or lost weight, not provided a piece of costume they promised, have the wrong (or no) shoes, or simply be totally unhappy with what has been provided. All this, done with a week in hand, is not a problem - left until the dress rehearsal it can be a disaster. Remember, performers, by their nature, are easily upset, and just before the dress rehearsal is a bad time to have someone walk out because they 'wouldn't be seen dead in this' or simply won't go into it!

I am Dianna Moylan, in my mid-sixties, an ex-teacher who has been involved for many years in local amateur dramatics, I have directed, designed and made costumes, taught the songs and performed in many musicals and plays. I live in a small house which is rapidly becoming swamped with doll house stuff which I build, renovate, sell and hoard. My site, [http://www.diannadollhouses.co.uk] is newly launched. I also sell on eBay. In addition to loving making dolls' houses I enjoy writing a lot and welcome this opportunity to have a say.