by Priscilla

May.24, 2010, under Backstage Blog

I run the dept in absence of the wardrobe mistress. I do a lot of technical work for the show regarding the costumes and the costume maintenance. There’s a lot of checking for safety issues, as some of the headdresses’ are very big. If a Gumby shoe was to break on stage it would be quite a worry. Some things are done daily and others weekly.

Wardrobes backstage

One of the big problems we have in the beautiful Palace theatre is that it has very little backstage area. Sandy, our original wardrobe mistress did genius things with the storage in such a small building. She created the cupcake oven to keep the cupcake costumes in, but storage is still a big problem. We have to climb vertical ladders in order to get to some of the costumes and use pulleys to pull up the costumes into the rafters. During the show we have wardrobe cues that need to be done, because of the size of some of the costumes and headdresses it takes a couple of people to put them away.

The nightmare costumes tend to become my favourites because I spend so much time on them, like the cupcake costumes with the electrics and the lizard costumes. The lizard costumes have a 3-piece fibreglass back plate and if they crack it is like re-fibreglassing a ship. The Les girl headdresses’ are also ongoing problems with all the feathers they have. I’m currently replacing the leather in them as they’ve worn over the year the show has been running. They are big and heavy so it is vital that they fit each performer perfectly. They have to be padded out and tightened up to fit correctly and then they have to be readjusted for a swing.

Men wearing heels have also been a big challenge. We have a lot of men who haven’t worn them before. They all tend to wear them in different ways and we have to compensate with the shoes accordingly.

I have worked on Imagine This, Starlight Express, Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Gone with the Wind and Guys and Dolls. Priscilla is definitely the busiest of the shows, but I love the challenge. There is something new to deal with everyday. It is problem solving. People’s perception of the wardrobe department is that it is just needle and thread, but we glue, we solder and there is a lot of computer work as well. We have to constantly resource things that are no longer available.

Priscilla is amazing. We have Ben Richards coming in which will be great and exciting. It is the perfect feel good experience.