Sew What?

    When it comes to more modern productions like Rent, the research isn’t as heavy-handed. However, when it comes to period pieces such as 1776, Behrens said she could spend hours pouring over library books, websites, or videos.

    “It’s inspiring,” she said. “Once I have an idea of how I want the costumes to look, I make it my own by starting with a basic pattern and design and embellish from there.”

    Behrens said you have to think of interesting ways to represent the character that aren’t always literal. For example, she might take one element of a character’s costume to create a representation of who that character is. For Seussical she used a wrinkly gray fabric to represent Horton the Elephant and embellished a suit with it.

    Though Look hates to start from scratch, she loves to add her personal touch to each piece, too.

    “Day to day you get the director’s vision and you get to add your touch,” Look said. “But the important thing you have to remember is that actors often have to sing and dance in these clothes – they need to be comfortable. It can be difficult to incorporate your vision into a working piece of clothing.”

    While the making of costumes is a big job, the work of a costumer doesn’t end after the last stitch is sewn. “I become like a fly on the wall backstage,” Look said. “I watch for costume malfunctions and changes between scenes. When they need me, I’m right there ready to fix something or help hurry someone out of their costume and into a new one.”
Behrens additionally rents costumes fr    om ECCT’s enormous storehouse to schools across the nation and Canada. “We get a lot of orders for shows like The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and A Chorus Line,” she said. “It’s important that we build the costumes to last.”

    Both offered advice to those looking to get into the field. The most important thing is the ability to be creative at a moment’s notice, Look said.

    “A lot of people will tell you to be a costumer, the most important things you’ll need are a sewing machine and an iron,” she said. “But, to be honest, the best qualities a costumer can have is a sense of humor and a good work ethic.”