Every costume and accessory needed for each character, scene by scene, is written down.

Made to measure
Workers in the wardrobe department measure the actors for size. The measurements go to the people that will be cutting and sewing the costumes.

If costumes are borrowed or rented, they may have to be altered to fit the actor.

As soon as the costumes are ready, the actors try them on so there is enough time to correct any problems with fit.

Wardrobe
Costumes and makeup tell the audience a lot about the character's age, social position, wealth and occupation. The audience's first impression of a character is often based on the way the actor is dressed.

The costume designer creates costumes for each character in the play. Sometimes a character has more than one costume to wear in the play.

Each character's costumes help communicate to the audience who he or she is, what function he or she serves in the play, where the character is, and the historical time period.

A costume that helps you act?
An actor might find it hard to pretend to be overweight if he isn't.

A costume stuffed with pillows or foam helps them feel and act the part better.

Acting the part of an animal can sometimes be easier if you're wearing an animal costume.

Illusion costumes
When an actor "wears" this bird, it looks like he is riding on it.

When actors wear this costume, they walk on their knees. They look very short because of the feet sewn on the front.

Costumes can make acting a part easier
Costumes affect the way an actor moves.
Costumes can also affect the way they feel as a character.

Hair you wear
If your own hair isn't right for a part, you might have to wear a wig.

Hairstyles must fit the historical period of a play or the personality of a character.

What a dirty old mess!
Making new clothes look old is called breaking them down.
A wardrobe person might use a cheese grater to break down the surface, like at the elbows, cuffs or knees, to make a costume look worn. Or they might rub dirt into places.

A perfect fit
To make a costume, you need detailed measurements of the actor who will be wearing it. Sometimes the person making the costume uses a dressmaker's dummy sized to an actor to be sure it will fit.

Underwear, it's more important than you think.
Who cares what an actor wears under the costume, right? Wrong!
Underwear can affect the shape of what we wear and how the wearer moves.

To get a tiny 18th century waist, you have to wear a corset.
To make a 19th century dress stick out, you need to wear hoops.