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.

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. 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. 

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. 

1. Start with a page dedicated to your Resume. It is classy, gets info across quickly, and sets a sort of "index" for your portfolio.
2. 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.
3. Show side by side sketches and productions shots so those hiring you can see how you represent things and how they materialized. 
4. 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. 
5. 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.

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. ​

 and EdwaOn the first installment we learned about witch costumes. On this second installment, I wanted to focus on other monsters. Notably, vampires, Frankenstein's monster, and mummies. The trinity of Halloween monsters. Before looking at some historic representations of the three, let's briefly review the origins of each myth. 

FYI: The green guy with bolts through his neck is Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein was the doctor who created him. Read the book by Mary Shelley and all will be made clear. 
​
One of the first vampire movies was the black and white silent film, Nosferatu. It was filmed in 1921 and is thought by many to be an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula by Bram Stoker. The movie also set a precedent that is believed to this day. In the movie, vampires are injured or killed by sunlight. No where in Stoker's novel was this mentioned; only that vampires are weakened. 

The mummy curse is thought to have been perpetuated or created by the Victorians. There is no evidence that Egyptians believed mummies were cursed or could get up and walk around after being mummified. Supernatural explanations and spiritualism was popular during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes was a noted spiritualist during that time. 

After researching the trifecta of costume monsters I have realized that although we see them as quintessential parts of Halloween, unlike witches, these monsters weren't as prevalent in Halloween dress up. Skeletons, bats, and black cats tended to show up more and much earlier in history when I was researching. Hopefully this is a jumping off point for anyone who wishes to do more in depth research into any of these three iconic monsters.  
Resources:

• Mental Floss-11 Nightmarish Facts About Nosferatu
• Origins of A Mummy's Tale
• Arthur Conan Doyle's Interest in Spiritualism
• Justine's Halloween
• Smithsonian-Halloween Costume Guide
• New York Times-How this Makeup Wizard Created the most Recognizable Monster of All time

As autumn is right around the corner, I thought I'd take a look into some Halloween costumes and how they were represented throughout the history of the holiday as we celebrate it today (parties, trick or treating, pumpkin patches). 

Witches were ranked as the #6 most popular Halloween costume of 2017 by Fortune Magazine. With America's history on witchcraft, witch costumes sounded like a fantastic idea for my first History's Halloween Costumes article.

American's borrowed "trick or treating" from the Irish and English in the late 1800s. Many tried to make the holiday more about family gathering and fun rather than tricks, ghost stories, and witchcraft. Although Halloween was meant to shy away from witchcraft, witches were still a very popular costume. From homemade paper mache masks to pre bought tutu miniskirts, here is a very brief pictorial history of witch costumes in America. 

Resources:

• Halloween at History.com
• The Origin of Halloween...
• Why Do Witches Wear Pointy Hats?
• The Fascinating Evolution of the Witch Costume 
• Vintage Everyday​

Lately in my personal life I have been trying to live "Greener". I compost, always have a reusable water bottle and bag with me, and use scratch paper if possible. I have been thinking how to make my career more green as well. I wrote an article about the "green movement" in theatre. 

At the end of the summer I started a new job as a Costume PA and the costume department does a bunch of things to be more green. The easiest thing we do (that more costume teams should do too) is we reuse our bags. Whether they are the 99 cent ones you can buy at the register or the paper ones from places like DSW and Victoria's Secret, we reuse every bag. It's great! Our 2nd Assistant Costume Designer either refuses a bag and puts the clothing in her own (I do this in my everyday life) or when we have to return items we use the bags we got when purchasing them. Reusable bags come in so many sizes that you can always find one to hold your purchases. 

Here is a very short list of stores that give you a "reusable bag" at check out:

• Urban Outfitters
• Free People
• Steve Madden (But only specific sizes I believe) 
• Beacon's Closet (Thrift/Vintage)
• B&J Fabrics

Here are some stores that sell reusable bags:

• Burlington Coat Factory
• Buffalo Exchange (Thrift/Vintage)
• Trader Joe's (Get yourself a snack while shopping?)
• Whole Foods (2nd Lunch?)
• Mood
• Cass Art (UK, but only 1 pound! I own many of these)

​Are there any I have missed? This list is just one I have compiled from my time shopping and returning on many different productions. 

Once you get the reusable bags down, you can move on to reusing scrap paper for taping up your receipts, have a bin for recycling packaging pieces, etc. Let's make our passions and careers better for our earth!

UPDATE! Aerie, the underwear store that is attached to American Eagle also recycles bras! Bring in old bras and get a coupon for a new one! Gently used ones go to Free the Girls, while older ones are sent to recycling; any brand, and style!