I really enjoyed
my two week placement in the wardrobe department in Salisbury Playhouse and I
have learnt a lot from the experience. I took part in various different tasks
and I also had the opportunity to see how a designer worked in this environment
and how production meetings and run throughs took place. I think that
throughout the experience my confidence has grown and I feel I understand this
professional environment and the roles within it much better. I had the
opportunity to go to a production meeting and this really helped me to see how
the different departments work together with the director and designer to
realise the designs. Each department had the opportunity to discuss any problems
they were having and whether members from other teams could help to solve them.
I saw the advantages and disadvantages of this, and it was interesting how in
some respects many problems had been solved before the meeting and it was more
of a case of checking over the production with all departments present.
I found it very
beneficial being able to see how the designer worked in relation to all the
departments but more particularly the wardrobe department and the actors. I saw
many fittings and I think this has helped me to understand how much a design
can change when problems arise during the rehearsals, for example, what will
the costume be made of and can the actor move in it? From the fittings I've learnt a lot about the importance of getting the
size of the costume correct, but also how the actors feel in the costume and
whether they think it portrays their character in the right way and whether a
costume needs any additions or changes. Seeing how the designer works
gives me more of an idea of how to realise The
Canterbury Tales and how important it is for me to have a good rapport with
the actors, especially so that I understand the requirements of their costume
and so they feel the costume is an extension of the character they are going to
play.
I enjoyed working
in the team environment as I think that many problems are solved much quicker
that way and everyone can use their strengths most effectively. It was also
interesting to see how much the designer was part of that team too, as I did
see that role as perhaps more of a singular one. It is apparent now that although
when designing the play it is partially a singular role, realising the play is
entirely a team effort and everyone relies on each other. During my placement I
think that seeing the designer as so much part of the team really helped the
process, and decisions and problems were solved with less difficulty.
I helped to
organise the many different costumes for this production, labelling them and
also finding and packaging any unwanted hired costumes. This is an important task as it means that the overall
charge from the hire company for what is used will be much less. Also keeping a
record of the items means that if anything is lost then the theatre has a
record of what they've kept. It gave me
an idea of the extent of different costumes that have to be hired and the
different options that have to be available for the designer. I realised that
although a costume may be hired sometimes there is still a lot of work for the
wardrobe team in adjusting it to fit the actor / actress and / or adding trims
and decoration to make the garment unique for the production. For the show all
costumes have to be labelled appropriately so that the dressers have a clear
understanding of what each actor is wearing. I helped to organise all the
costumes, dividing them by the different actors/actresses and labelling them
with the actor's/actress' name and their character. The play I was working on is
unusual as there are 9 performers playing several parts.
During the second week of my placement I went to part
of a run through and this was a really interesting opportunity to see how the
actors, director and other members of the team worked together to help the
smooth running of the play. Members of the wardrobe department who would be
dressing on the production were taking relevant notes on the various changes
that would take place. This is very important and tells them how, where (stage
right or left), when and the speed at which they would have to change, giving
the dressers and other members of the wardrobe department the opportunity to
solve any problems they think may arise before the show begins, for example
whether any not particularly important parts of a costume need cutting. This experience
also taught me the importance of every member of the team having great
familiarity with the play, not only in terms of the actual writing and script
but also what the director has chosen to do with it and how it has been
realised. Therefore, in the case of the wardrobe department, it is important to
know how this will affect the costumes, whether any problems will need
addressing and also the changes backstage. This experience will help me in the
autumn term when rehearsals start for The
Canterbury Tales as I now have a
better understanding of why it is so important to see rehearsals. It has helped
me to fully appreciate the importance of how the play is happening so that it
will be easier for me to understand the requirements and constraints of the
performance before it takes place.
In conclusion I think that my work placement has been
an extremely valuable experience. I was a little nervous to start with but
tried to volunteer for as many jobs as possible, rather than waiting to be
asked, therefore improving my confidence. I now understand the extent of the
various tasks that need doing and how much more busy and intense the job is
during a tech week and closer to the run up of a show. I had a great time at my
work placement and it has helped me to understand the industry better, how a
designer works with the wardrobe team and the actors, how fittings take place
in the wardrobe department of a producing theatre, how the different
departments work together and the general running of the wardrobe department.
