A Musical is Born! -Part 13- The Costumes

Three weeks to the show, and we are chipping away at our to-do list: band, choreography, blocking, costumes, props, sets.

The props are still being rounded up, but we did finish choreography for the finale today (yay!), the sets are done (though I haven't seen them yet), and I saw the actors in costume on Friday!

First, I have to give credit to our costume moms. CYT does not hire "professionals" to build or paint our sets or make our costumes. These are all done by our parent volunteers. Our parents spend endless hours lovingly working to bring the vision to life–and they always do an amazing job! When I first started with CYT, I was put on the costume committee, so I have a special place in my heart for these moms who are at our rehearsals hemming, sewing, fixing, and fitting to make sure ALL our actors look perfect on stage.

Because Five Children and It takes place in 1907 in England, we have racks of long skirts and blouses for the women, shirt dresses and pinafores for the girls, knickers for the boys, and slacks, shirts, and vests for the men. Boxes hold bowlers, newsboy caps and floral hats. Brown and black leather shoes and boots line the walls, each labeled with masking tape on the inside of the shoe.

What is unique about the clothes for this show is the color–or the lack of colors. KW wanted the color palette to be like that of the ocean and beach; everything is in shades of brown, gray, blue, or green. Why? Because (and this is brilliant!), when the "magic" happens on stage, jeweled tones will appear on stage and brighten up the scene (which makes this idea brilliant both literally and figuratively!) The actors will then come out wearing a brightly colored hat, or sash, or tie, or skirt. This gives the audience a visual that something is different in the town, though the actors themselves look the same.

Now normally, we would do something called a "costume parade." All actors get into costume and "parade" in front of the director and costume director in small groups. This way, the directors can see not only how individual costumes fit, but also if they go well with other costumes in the show. A family should look like they go together. People of a certain working group or class should look similar. Then the directors make notes and give the costumers time to shorten, lengthen, or change any items.

For this show, we didn't have time to do a proper "costume parade," so we did a virtual one. Actors were photographed both by themselves and in groups for the director to review later. 

This weekend, we also added a new element to our rehearsals, what we call "rehearsal clothes." This means that girls need to bring (or wear) a skirt to rehearsal, boys need slacks rather than shorts or jeans. Actors should also wear shoes similar to their characters' shoes. This is so that the actors get used to moving in clothes similar to what they will be wearing on stage. 

You might have noticed that I did not mention one particular costume at all. The Psammead's costume was not ready, because it is being hand-made (one can't just go and buy a Psammead outfit on Amazon!) I saw the beginnings of it, and it was delightful. But I want it to be a surprise, so that is all I am going to say about that...