Costume Design

Costumes can have a huge visual impact on the aesthetic of a play, as well as informing the audience about Character's personality, relationships, class and purpose. They can also suggest the place and the period of history in which the play is set.

Within theatre, drastic costume changes are not always neccessary in order to create dramatic meaning. Costume needs to fit the practical requirements of the script. For example, it wouldn’t be practical if a character was working as a fireman and wearing an elaborate costume in one scene, and relaxing at home in his own clothes in the next one. The symbolic addition of a hat in the first scene might be enough to represent the role and wouldn’t interfere with the flow from one scene to the next.

Production style and costume

The style of production will also greatly affect costume choices. A naturalistic production will aim to dress the character in an authentic costume that is as close as possible to what the characters would have actually worn in that setting. However, a Theatre in education piece might have a handful of actors playing many different parts. Most of the changes of character will be communicated by what the actors themselves do onstage using voice, body language etc. A simple costume might be used to enhance this, such as the addition of a hat, stick or shawl.

For the sake of our design process, we will focus on the realistic type of costuming.

1. Mood Boards for Time/Place/Style.

Checking in with your creative vision, your direction may be to set the play within a particular time and place, or a particular style. If this is the case, then a good place to start would be creating a mood board for this era! Consider the costumes used for Hamilton, compared to the costumes used for Oliver. You will notice a stark difference in the colour scheme, as well as suggestion of class, due to the textures used, and the details of the costumes.

3. Initial Sketches

Initial sketches are where you can communicate how a character will look, by themselves or alongside other characters in the play.

1. Use a character template that is theatrical, so that it feels like an image of that character, rather than an image of a model. This will further help to clarify personality.

Choose a template that looks like the body shape of the character you are designing for, as well as posture and gesture that can help to communicate personality.

You can find templates for costume design online, or you can draw your own.

2. Draw on the basic costume that you have planned for this character. You want your design to clearly communicate:

• Shapes of the costume

• Colour schemes

• Fabric and texture choices

• Extra jewellery or accessories

3. Annotate the choices that you have made in your design. Use arrows to identify different parts of the costume, and explain what they are and why they are relevant to this character. See below for examples of what an initial sketch and annotations may look like.