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Things I took for granted while at school

11/26/2018

As I have begun my professional career as a costume designer I have run into a few things that I didn't realize were givens when working on a show. There are a few things I needed to budget for/remind people I needed/etc that were already there and waiting as a student. I thought I'd share a few of these so those of you leaving academia in the near future will be more prepared.

If your production is renting rehearsal space you will need to also rent fitting spaces (or have fittings at your apartment). Having worked on shows I knew this in the back of my head, but when it came time for me to design a show this completely threw me for a loop. Sometimes depending on the rehearsal space rented you can use part of the room and set up screens (not ideal but it will work). It is important if you need the space you get that rental put in as a line in the production budget. Sometimes though, production has budgeted all their rentals for the rehearsal space and there isn't much leftover. These are the times you get creative. I have done fittings in apartments and rehearsal space bathrooms.
Where will costumes be stored? Thankfully I have designed small shows that can live in bags at my apartment, but if you are designing a show that is larger you'll need a space to keep costumes until you move into your theatre. The rental can double as a place for fittings potentially, but if you don't have it budgeted in, you'll have to get creative. Sometimes if it is a small show producers, stage managers, and directors can offer up some space. Other times, actors who are amazing at remembering their pieces will keep them at their homes until move in day. My personal ideology is keeping the costumes together or with the stage manager if they are needed to rehearse scene changes/transitions/blocking.
You have to hire stitchers/a shop or do alts yourself. Thankfully I have my own sewing machine and am comfortable with alts. But, if you don't have a machine or have a few alterations you feel you can't complete, it is important to find stitchers/seamstresses/etc you trust to complete the task. Also, pay them as good of a fee as you can. Some costume budgets are tiny, but make sure there is another line in the budget for labor.

Most of these tips have to do with budget or the non-design side of costume designing. They are still very important to keep in the forefront of your mind when budgeting and organizing the set up for your production.

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Paper Portfolio 2.0

11/5/2018

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I thought I'd circle back around and revisit the Paper Portfolio that I had written about while I was interviewing for graduate schools. Having now finished my MFA I thought I'd give some updated tips. For the most part the only time you will need to have a physical paper portfolio is when interviewing for school (grad/undergrad) or in very specific summer stocks, regional theatres, etc.

Start with a page dedicated to your Resume. It is classy, gets info across quickly, and sets a sort of "index" for your portfolio.
Give credit where credit is due. Some photos on the two sample pages above have names attached. Make sure you credit the photographers as well as your fellow designers and director. If one photographer took all the photos on one of your pages just credit them in the header with the other designers. It keeps the page looking clean.
Show side by side sketches and productions shots so those hiring you can see how you represent things and how they materialized.
Create your portfolio digitally so you can have it printed but also available on an iPad or in a PDF to email. Although most places will be happy to follow a link to a website (take a look around if you need inspiration), sometimes having something you can "flip through" is also a good idea. I used photo shop so that I could keep my template and fonts the same throughout.
If you are a designer fill your portfolio with mostly designs. Save the last page or two for crafts, technology, or art. Reverse this if you are a technician.

My final page included my production design or scenography project from my studies in London. I wanted to show that although I am primarily a costume designer, I can think about the space in which the production is happening as well. I can create a cohesive space that takes into account changes needed in the script as well as design my director and I discuss.
It is also nice to put in a few projects if you are using the portfolio to enter school or as a wrap up of your time at school. The hope is that as you work, these projects can be replaced by real physical productions with production photos, budgets, and actors, etc.

The final page of a portfolio is usually an odd single page (since you started with the resume), so something that is a little different than what is filling most of the portfolio can be a fun way to end/start the discussion you want to have with a future employer or educator.

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Things I took for granted while at school

Paper Portfolio 2.0

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