Design: Costumes

All stage costumes must meet certain requirements. First, they must readily reveal to the audience a character’s personality, taste, age, wealth, and social position. In addition, a costume must enable the audience to differentiate between the characters.

Costumes should reflect the mood and style of the production. In comedies, actors usually dress in bright colors and light weight fabrics. In tragedies, colors are subdued to denote gloom, and fabrics are often heavy. Costumes for fantasies are generally stylized with the setting. In period plays, they must conform to the fashion, line, and material used in that particular time.

Accessories for period costumes need careful selection to be appropriate for the time and to be in harmony with the outfit. There must be an acceptable reason for using each costume piece and only necessary accessories should be utilized. Since costumes are important in adding period atmosphere, the costume designer should provide something that looks authentic.

(Introduction adapted from Basic Drama Projects by F. A. Tanner, 1982)

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