(Picture shows the chairs Backstage where the Dancers Costume changes are kept)
On the Monday I watched the Tech Run in the Theatre which wasn't originally supposed to have any costumes in it but the Director wanted to see what the colours of the costumes looked liked under the lights so I took the costume rails, with the chosen costumes on, through to the workshop which is backstage.
I was given a running order of the show with the name of each dance and notes on costumes, LX, props and music etc. This had been made earlier by another crew member during rehearsals and I was to make my own notes on it whilst watching the Tech Run of what costume was needed and by whom. This was the first time I had been involved in the Dance show and the first time I had seen any of the dances. I do feel sometimes that you are thrown in at the deep end but I suppose that is life at times and the Theatre. I always feel I would like to have more involvement from an earlier start in each show.
Whilst watching the Tech Run I would occasionally have to get up and go backstage with them to assist the dancer to get their costume.
I also spent time gathering up costumes from around the Theatre after they had been used and re-hanging them back on the rails.
It was a slow day and by lunchtime only 4 out of the 18 Dances had been run through. We had no morning or afternoon breaks and only a 45 minute lunch rather than our normal hour. There is a lot of sitting around whilst running through a Tech Run if you are not involved in the actual lighting or sound, so patience is required and plenty of fluids as you start to dehydrate sitting around in a darkened, stuffy Theatre and can get a pounding headache by the end of the day if your not careful.
(The Monitor Backstage that shows what is going on on the stage)
On the Tuesday, whilst they continued with the Tech Run, I worked in the Costume Room labeling Dancers Costumes with their names and I also drew up a chart of the Dancers names so we could allocate them a pair of tights each. Usually new tights are bought for the Dancers and most never seem to be returned and there is no record of who had what and who had returned what. This time I was asked to label all the tights with a number and allocate each number to a Dancer. When at the end of the shows the tights are returned, the numbers can be checked off against each Dancers names. I also labelled the tights with their sizes as once taken out of the packet there was no visible evidence what the size was. I labelled these tights with a small calico label that i had cut out and wrote on and then hand sewed them into each individual pair of tights.
In the afternoon there was a full dress rehearsal and I must admit it was pretty chaotic and I did feel that I would not enjoy the shows at this rate. Again it had been a long day and various Crew and Dancers were dropping out and going early for various reasons and it did make you wonder how any show ever goes on. I had to help with quick changes, which mainly were with the 2 Male Dancers in the show. Poppy was allocated to help me with the dressing but she did also have to do some props and set changes as far as I was aware, so there were times where I was on my own. Plus we had decided to work opposite sides of the stage when necessary but we did have to do some of the quick changes together.
(The running order of the Dances to be performed during the show, copies of these were taped up in various places Backstage)
On the Wednesday I had to label all the chairs that were placed backstage for the Dancers to sit on whilst they waited to go on stage. I stuck their name on the wall above their chair. This is so they would know where their pile of costume changes were and for me to know whose chair was whose so I could also know where to place their costumes. The Dancers kept all their costumes on their own chairs in the order which they were to wear them. The last costume at the bottom of the pile. The first being on the top. Once used most costumes were then put beneath the chairs.
I would of liked to of known each Dancers order of costumes and what items each costume consisted of. This would I felt benefited me to be able to be more organised as I felt at this stage out of my depth not knowing what was happening and who needed what, what each costume was and the order of each Dancers changes. I felt that I should be able to assist in the order of each of the Dancers costumes and get their chairs organised if I needed to but I wasn't in the position to do so. I did mention this to the Wardrobe Supervisor but she felt that the Dancers needed to take this responsibility and that it wasn't down to us!!?? I'm not convinced but had to let it go and work with what I could.
Wednesday saw the open Dress Rehearsal and it did run surprisingly smooth and the Dancers did keep their costumes in order and although it did look pretty chaotic backstage they did seem to be organised in their own way. the open Dress Rehearsal went well I think and the only mishap was for the final dance of the 2nd show, as one of the Dancers T-shirts and bandanna seemed to be missing. They went on in a different colour T-shirt to everyone else and without a bandanna. I can only presume there must of been some sort of domino effect gone on with someone taking a costume from the chair next to them and not their own, so thus making each next person taking the wrong outfit, as the missing outfit was found during the dance routine quite a way down the line.
The other thing we needed to do was draw up a quick costume change list and pin it up on the wall. Something that we could work to so we knew what was going on and when. It was drawn as a chart with the name of the dance, the Dancers name, the outfit they needed, what side of the stage they were coming off at and what side of the stage they were to go on at. This helped us know where to have the costume ready for and when.
(Our quick change lists. The original list on top and below it our chart for the quick changes)
On Thursday there was 2 shows and all went well. The Quick changes did have to be done quickly and it could prove difficult at times as Dancers get quite hot and sweaty and taking down trousers and attempting to put on jeans to sticky bodies is not the easiest things to do. Doing up shirts and putting on bow-ties can also be tricky and its not the time to have fumbling fingers, which did happen on occasions lol. To speed things up shirts were done up to midway and put over the head so not so many buttons had to be done up whilst doing the change. Trousers legs are rolled up and the trousers laid flat on the ground so they can step in quickly. T-shirts are put onto the Dressers arms, their arm slotted through the neck and through to the bottom, so they can be placed quickly over the Dancers heads. Organisation is the key points of being a Dresser and a sense of calmness in a chaotic atmosphere. Quickness is needed as well. To be able to direct the Dancer/actor to what you expect of them whilst they are pumped up on adrenalin, such as left foot forward then right, take control of the situation and take the lead and always be in your position on time and be ready with your changes. I actually ended up really enjoying my Dressing experience, the Guy Dancers were both lovely and tolerant and I felt the changes went comparatively smoothly even though there were some hic-cups along the way but all went ok in general.
(Running order of set changes and props needed throughout the show)
Towards the end of the last show we started to gather up the used costumes and sorting them into colour costume piles ready for washing. This was to save time at the actual end of the show.
On the Friday I continued to sort through the costume piles. Taking out name labels.Turning things the right way out. Unrolling sleeves. Untangling items etc and then putting them into separate bin bags of sorted colours ready to take to the launderette.
I would happily do the Dressing again but would like more involvement in all costume related details. Attending the rehearsals. Help in choosing the costumes and having the knowledge of what is what and chosen for whom. I feel this would help benefit with the smoother running and understanding of the order of things for me.
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