178 Off-Broadway theatre workers join IATSE in massive majority ‘Yes’ vote. This is a historic movement for all involved in the industry and could inspire other Off-Broadway theatre workers to similarly join in. With the results being announced just a mere few days after Off-Broadway’s show Titaníque, this could potentially be the start of a massive movement for all Off-Broadway workers.
Opera Australia have announced a costume clearance sale this April, with everything from couture to corsets up for grabs. The Opera Centre in Surry Hills will open its doors over two days on 14th and 15th April for a unique chance to own a piece of operatic costume history and bag a bargain. The costume […]
Green practices aren’t just in reducing waste. There are several ways you can decrease your production’s environmental impact through your wardrobe department.
As the Head of Wardrobe of The House of Dancing Water (THODW) in Macau, China as well as having been a recruiter for Wardrobe Supervisors for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL); there has been a mountain of resumes that have come across my desk. When I shift through them, I can quickly see which candidates that catch my eye and one’s that do not. Here are some suggestions on formatting your resume, which I hope you will find useful as you navigate through the Wardrobe Industry.
After spending hours at a time laboring over a sewing machine, loading the last laundry load of the night, and hanging up costumes following a quick change, feeling aches and pains are just part of the job. Right? Wrong.
Ever wondered what a hair and wig person actually gets up to when working on a long running West End show? I can’t even begin to count the times a colleague working in the same building as myself has asked me why are we in so early? Or, what do you do with the wigs everyday? So do you brush them and stuff? This then made me think that if even the people in the same building don’t know, what chance do the rest of you have? I thought I would give the world a little sneak peek in the secret world of a wiggy. (as we are often known as)
The backstage area can quickly become a veritable tornado of costume chaos with big casts. I’ve been there; the biggest production I’ve directed so far was The Wedding Singer which had 36 high school-aged actors and lots of costume changes! Yet that’s small potatoes for some; I’ve seen school productions which include entire grade levels… 100+ kids!
Even with the music blaring on the dance floor I could hear music playing in my head…the sound of a jazz clarinet…“Maybe this time…I’ll be lucky, maybe this time he’ll stay…” Watching Alan joining the Steiner Hen Party…I looked up at Barry and smiled… “Maybe this time for the first time love won’t hurry away”
Zach laughed and said, “Okay Girl, I hear through the ship’s grapevine that the crew bar is done with maintenance and it will be open tonight at 8 pm. Here is a little map that you may find helpful for the crew bar.” Now, I had a puzzled look on my face as I opened the folded piece a paper that Zach was handing me. “Why do I need a map, isn’t it like a bar on land?”
Dear David…I have walked into many adventures in my life, but this cruise ship gig is one for the books. Thank God that I have Alan here to help make sense of this crazy world. With having him here it’s just like old times. I remember how you didn’t quite understand my friendship with Alan, thinking he was a complete nutcase.
Tuesday 20, October 1998. Deck 5- Stateroom 5230- 3:00 am. Alan was standing at the top of a huge golden staircase dressed as Peter Pan in a green sequin gown, crowing with the ocean crashing at the base of the staircase below. Thom was dressed as Captain Hook
Australia is currently in the throes of an emotional and malicious debate over the state of Same Sex Marriage. The country is in the process of partaking in a non-binding postal vote that is attempting to get an idea of how the population feels on this topic. The entire process will end up taking approximately 3 months – from official announcement to final tally of the votes. In that time, the campaigning from both sides of the argument is heated and divisive, having emotional effect on many of our people, especially our children.
Remember the first day of school, all the feels? Excited to see old friends and start something new. Nervous energy as to what challenges lay ahead. Curious of the lessons in store and who we would be so lucky to receive those lessons from. Same goes for any new job to some degree or another.
Monday 19, October 1998. Dry Dock – San Francisco. Dear David- as we stared up at our new home for the next year, Alan whispers…”How the hell do we board a ship out of the water?”
When you first become a costume supervisor of touring productions you know that your job entails of a lot of details, making sure that every piece is accounted for, that those pieces show up at the right place at the right time, that the integrity of the design is upheld, that your actors get in said costumes at the right time, and a million other things involving the costumes.
Three years ago, while touring Australia with a rather sparkle-filled show, I got a call. This call could not have had better timing as we were just informed the very morning the next leg of the tour had to be canceled for whatever reasons. ‘Tis life on the road.
The Artistic Director and I interviewed the already hired team members for the wardrobe department. We found the majority of the team were from fashion schools, new to the workforce and quite green to theatre, and all had great ambition to own their own fashion design shops within the next 5 years.
I like to think of myself as a fairly decent researcher. Anytime I take on a new adventure I conduct due diligence to make sure I’m best prepared for anything the upcoming situation could possibly throw my way. Let me tell you, nothing can properly prepare you for everything you will encounter whilst living abroad and perhaps this applies even more so when speaking on Asia.
When I was asked by the creators of this community to contribute to its birth, I was surprised, honoured and baffled. Surprised because Anna knows how obnoxious I can be and yet she has given me a rather large audience to annoy – she, and by extension, you, may live to regret this choice.
Oh, the Glamour!
When non-industry people find out what I do, there are a few standard answers that recur regularly.
“Oh! You’re an actor?!?” Uh… no… which then leads to disappointment and confusion.
“Oh! You’re a scrub nurse?” Theatrical arts are not a big thing on the Malaysian peninsula, at least not among my family.
“You’re in theatre? How glamorous!”
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