As we enter that crazy time right before technical and dress rehearsals begin, things get a little crazy in the costume shop. The children have been added to the rehearsal schedule, and although there are only 5 of them, the addition of a college student as a "child wrangler" is invaluable. We have final fittings, Saturday work calls 10 - 5, and then next week techs and dress. The schedule is crazy. My house looks like a bomb went off in it as I haven't vacuumed in well over a week, and my kids are fed with take out or microwavable food. It is insane, but a schedule we are used to.
So how do we get it all done? How do we not crack? Here are a few methods. Saw this on the internet today. Keeping very good lists is imperative. I tell my actors I will try to fix anything they need, but I they have to tell me at a time when I can write it down. My clipboard is always close at hand.
Another really important thing I have learned over the years is to have fun. When we have Saturday calls, they can be a little overwhelming. I always feed my helpers - bagels, fruit, cookies, coffee, juice, and always red licorice - Twizzlers and Red Vines. Music during the seven hour call is imperative - usually older music - 50s or 60s, and show tunes (we are a theatre after all!) so we can all sing as we stitch. It makes for a fun day!
Sleep is less important than finishing those hems, so costumes often come home with me at the end of the day. Opening night, however, makes it all worth while.
So, if you are in or near Oneonta, NY, come and see Carousel. We open 4/23 and run through Saturday. The cast is wonderful; the music exquisite. The scenery, designed by one of our senior students is complex, usable, and really shapes the environment for the play. Oh, and the costumes won't be half bad, either!
So how do we get it all done? How do we not crack? Here are a few methods. Saw this on the internet today. Keeping very good lists is imperative. I tell my actors I will try to fix anything they need, but I they have to tell me at a time when I can write it down. My clipboard is always close at hand.
Another really important thing I have learned over the years is to have fun. When we have Saturday calls, they can be a little overwhelming. I always feed my helpers - bagels, fruit, cookies, coffee, juice, and always red licorice - Twizzlers and Red Vines. Music during the seven hour call is imperative - usually older music - 50s or 60s, and show tunes (we are a theatre after all!) so we can all sing as we stitch. It makes for a fun day!
Sleep is less important than finishing those hems, so costumes often come home with me at the end of the day. Opening night, however, makes it all worth while.
So, if you are in or near Oneonta, NY, come and see Carousel. We open 4/23 and run through Saturday. The cast is wonderful; the music exquisite. The scenery, designed by one of our senior students is complex, usable, and really shapes the environment for the play. Oh, and the costumes won't be half bad, either!
