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Head of Wardrobe and Costume Designer

Department: Drama and Speech Communication Effective Date: June 14, 2006
Grade: USG 7 Reports to: Chair

General Accountability

Reporting to the Chair of the department, the Head of Wardrobe and Costume Designer is responsible for the management of wardrobe facilities, wardrobe-related equipment and the design and/or execution of all costumes for department-mounted productions, including the overseeing of student crew members working in the wardrobe area.

Nature and Scope

The position encompasses two related functions: Costume Designer and Head of Wardrobe for department productions. The incumbent fulfill both of these functions for each department-mounted theatre production; from time to time, the faculty member with design expertise or a guest artist may be the designated costume designer for a particular production. The position is accountable to the Chair of the department, the faculty member assigned the Head of Production duty, as well as the director of each department production, whether a full-time faculty member or a visiting artist.

The costume designer for a production is responsible for the conception and design of all aspects of all costumes for a particular production. The separate functions of the head of wardrobe must be fulfilled for each production as well; in cases where the incumbent fulfills both duties at once, some of the duties may dovetail or overlap with the duties of the costume designer.

The position will frequently require significant contact and oversight of student work in the wardrobe area. These will typically occur as students assigned to the area as part of their learning in the DRAMA 243/244 classes; as senior students assigned as Assistant Stage Managers to the wardrobe area.

Statistical Data

The department normally mounts between three and six productions each year. Wardrobe budgets are generally in the $500- $2000 range for materials and labour required beyond the position; productions may demand as few as one costume per character to more than 6, and actors to be costumed can range from one to more than 30 per production. Each production generally involves as many as 12 students assigned to a variety of crew positions, all requiring overseeing of their duties to one extent or another, as outlined in the Internal Contacts portion of this job description.

Budgeting responsibilities for this position include each of the department productions ($500 - $2 000 or more); equipment and materials purchase and maintenance; costume loans; and student payrolls for the work study students hired on an occasional basis. The wardrobe houses specialized costume construction equipment with an approximate value of $10 000. The wardrobe also houses an extensive stock of period costumes and fabrics and materials for construction and alteration. These have an approximate total value of over $24 000.

SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL CONTACTS:

SIGNIFICANT EXTERNAL CONTACTS:

Local and area theatres; local and area fabric retailers and suppliers; local and area theatrical suppliers; local and research resources, such as libraries and museums.

Specific Accountabilities

As Costume Designer the incumbent is responsible for analyzing the script for its wardrobe needs; consultation with the director, often several times, to develop and refine a design approach and to determine the period setting for the play; research into all aspects of the selected period as it pertains to costume; the production of costume drawings or renderings of each costume sufficient to express the total idea in detail to the actor involved, the director and the crew members responsible for the execution of the garments; overseeing the acquisition of all elements of each costume, including but not restricted to garments, wigs, shoes, hats and headwear, as well as costume accessories such as spectacles, handkerchiefs, personal jewellery, handbags and parasols; specialty makeup for aging, wounds or other special effects. The costume designer is further responsible for attending sufficient rehearsals to understand the demand and scope of the costume requirement, and all dress rehearsals where costumes are being used, to ascertain deficiency lists and oversee the completion of all aspects of all costumes to her/his and the director’s satisfaction.

As Head of Wardrobe the incumbent is responsible for the direct execution of all costumes in all details and regards, with the assistance of students assigned to the area. This includes pulling and altering costumes from the department stocks; renting, borrowing or buying all costumes not in stock; shopping for costume pieces and accessories, as well as fabrics and supplies for costume construction; pattern drafting where required for period costumes; cutting and sewing or overseeing the sewing on all costumes being constructed; fitting and overseeing the alterations to all costumes to be used; and attending dress rehearsals sufficient to complete the costumes to the costume designer’s satisfaction. In addition, the incumbent is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the costumes being used in a production; the ongoing maintenance, storage and improvement of the department costume stocks; and the timely return and cleaning of all borrowed costumes. A car will be required from time to time to fulfill these duties.

In both cases the position requires extensive training of student crews and working with them on all aspects of costume production and running maintenance for performances. This involves demonstration of construction and sewing techniques; painting and breakdown techniques; specialty make-up techniques; as well as general instruction in the production process, including fitting procedures and organizational techniques.

Working Conditions