10 The Costume Team
Bethany Marx
Introduction: The World of Costumes
Costumes are one of the key design components of contemporary theatre and have played a major role in theatre since its creation. In Ancient Greece, intricate masks transformed actors into literal Gods. In Europe during the Middles Ages, historic records show that Mystery Cycles—plays that featured stories from the Bible—budgeted special funds to costume actors portraying God and his angels, even though lesser characters were often costumed anachronistically. In traditional theatre practices across the globe, from Renaissance England, to Japanese Noh Theatre, to Chinese Xiqu (Chinese opera, in English), the purpose of costumes extended further than establishing details about the character to provide the primary spectacle for the performance, as these theatre practices featured almost no scenery and relied on natural or limited lighting. In fact, costumes were the most valuable asset owned by Renaissance Theatre troupes in many European countries.
But it wasn’t until the last two centuries, when technology advanced enough to allow for less expensive and faster-produced textiles, that Costume Design began to be tailored to specific productions. An increased interest in historical accuracy in the late 18th Century, and a move towards Realism in the late 19th Century, led theatre artists to start thinking about the psychology of characters and how best to communicate specific information about time, place, and origin to the audience. With these developments, the modern Costume Designer was born.
The Purpose of Costumes
While many love costumes for their beauty and creativity, the main purpose of costumes within a theatrical production is to communicate necessary information about the time period and characters to the audience.
Imagine you walk into the grocery store and see a man in a suit and leather dress shoes selecting oranges in the produce section. What would your first assumptions be about him?
You’re unlikely to assume the man in the suit is an employee of the grocery store. Our knowledge of the world tells us that most grocery store employees wear some sort of uniform or utilitarian clothing suited to their required tasks. Depending on the time of day, we might assume that he is on his way home from work. But what does he do for a living? Did he choose the suit or is it a requirement of his employment?
Costumes provide us with a glimpse into a character before they have a chance to speak. They allow us to use our knowledge of the world to make assumptions about where we are and who a person is without having to be told. A skilled Costume Designer can even use an audience’s inferences to surprise them when a character later does something unexpected. Costumes may be used to communicate a character’s personality, wealth or social status, age, sex or gender, confidence level, employment, and more.
Costumes can also work with other design elements to reveal important details ab