Costume students Ciara Carrington & Katie Barker DULOG Production Anything Goes!
Costume students Katie Barker and Ciara Carrington have recently finished a four week run working as costume designers with Durham University Light Opera Group on their Production of Anything Goes. Completing the enormous task of dressing a 30 person cast whilst studying for their degree!
Finding out about the opportunity from their lecturer Jane Havakin the wonderful work experience opportunity lead to both girls, interviewing and securing their roles as costume designers for the production. “The production is an original Cole Porter musical” commented Ciara, “where a group of people set sail on the S.S. American on their journey to England. The story revolves around romances, mistaken identities, and a celebrity chasing aboard the S.S. American voyage from New York to London. Among the passengers is Reno Sweeney an evangelist turned nightclub singer and her friend Billy Crocker a Wall Street broker who stows away on the ship to be near his love, Hope Harcourt who is engaged to marry the wealthy Englishman Lord Evelyn Oakleigh.” Katie added, “It is a glamorous and silly tale of love, deceit, friendship and tap-dancing sailors!”
The brief for the production set out by their director was “to be set in the 1930s with inspiration from the Hollywood Golden Age, including icons such as Joan Crawford, Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Marylin Monroe. The costumes needed to take into account the performers ability to dance as this is a heavily choreographed musical, as well as maintain period accuracy.” (Ciara)
From the process of applying to the start of the production week we had around four weeks to complete research and source our costumes. This was a short turnaround as industry projects usually are, as well as this we had a millinery module hand in, so you can imagine that time management was essential!”
Both were able to not only use their creative skills but got insight into the realities of managing a production, a budget and reaching out to local businesses to support the project. Katie explained “We were responsible for costuming the entire cast, which consisted of 30 members. We had to design, source and make all costumes in just over 4 weeks. We were also accountable for the costume budget and delegating work to our costume team. I think the biggest challenges were working within the time frame and the budget as both were quite tight however, I am aware that this is often the case within the costume industry. So I feel that it gave a great insight into the challenges I may face in my future career and how I can overcome them, which we successfully managed to do during this work experience.”
“Before beginning to source any costumes, we had to do some research into 1930’ss fashion as well as watching the show to understand the plot and the characters. We then met with the cast and took measurements so that we could source costumes that would fit. In terms of sourcing costumes, we had to think economically but also sustainably too; some of the costumes were bought online however, the majority were hired and sourced second hand from charity shops and Vinted too.
We reached out to different organisations such as the Billingham Players and Redress and Circle Vintage, who operate in Durham; all of these organisations were kind enough to let us borrow garments from them for the production, which saved us money and allowed us to be more environmentally conscious too. We also made some of the costumes ourselves from scratch and upcycled existing garments to make them more exciting and appropriate for the show.”
Ciara agreed, “When we saw the spreadsheet, we truly were wondering how we were going to pull this off in such little time! Once we had broken down the characters, their personality, and did some research into shapes and silhouettes of the 1930s we started to source costumes working to a given budget by DULOG.Where the director had a specific vision, such as the reveal dress inspired by Marylin Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the sailor t-shirts which took inspiration from Jean Paul Gaultier’s sailors, and the dress made for one of the ensemble characters inspired by young Shirley Temple, these had to be pattern drafted and made by hand by Katie and myself.”
Katie added “I made a pink tear away dress, which was worn by the character Erma during the number Buddy Beware. The dress was inspired by Maralyn Monroe’s Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend dress, which she could then tear away to reveal a sparkly, show dress beneath. This dress was a huge challenge for me as I had to ensure that it fit perfectly, that the tear away worked and that the actor felt comfortable in it. I worked hard to ensure all of these aims were met, which required a lot of problem solving however, it worked perfectly in the end and I felt very proud to see it worn on the stage. Ciara made a red baby-doll style dress for one of the ensemble girl’s day looks. The director requested a child-like dress inspired by a young Shirley Temple and Annie. She too made this dress completely from scratch to fit the actor and it also looked amazing on the stage.”
Katie commented that the best part of the experience for her was seeing her dress ripped off on stage, “When she did it the audience cheered and it felt so amazing to see everyone so involved in a costume that I had worked hard to create.”
The pair also travelled during the production week to ensure the costume department ran smoothly, to be on hand at side of stage for quick changes and repairs, they also washed and organised the garments. Whilst the project ran along side their studies both found that their studies enriched the experience Ciara said, “Research is heavily emphasised on our course, having to produce detailed research files into silhouette and style to accompany our physical work. As well as this, the costume building has their own archive of historical garments which we are able to closely look at. This helped when sourcing and creating the costumes as I knew exactly what I was looking for. Previously I have completed modules in design and cut and construction as well as a module in professional practice, this all meant that I was confident going into this experience as I had the underpinning knowledge.”
Katie agreed that the experience helped her future university work and job aspirations “If anything, this experience has enhanced my studies. I feel I have a great understanding of how a costume department is ran and what responsibilities I may have in any future job roles. Working with actors, who had to perform in our costumes taught me a lot too; it was quite different to using a chosen model, which is what I am used to doing. These actors had to act, perform and dance in their costumes and it was extra important that they felt 100% comfortable in what we were dressing them in. I also learnt more about the budgeting side of the industry as well as working collaboratively with others, who aren’t always in the costume team.”
Equally Katie felt that the skills she learnt at university well-equipped her for the role, “The things I had learnt at uni really prepared me for this experience too as I felt equipped with the right skills and knowledge I needed. I had a good understanding of what costumes needed to be sourced in terms of historical accuracy and from a performance point of view, and I felt confident to alter and make costumes to fit the actors perfectly. The things I have learnt at uni also allowed me to think quickly and solve problems efficiently and I knew I could always ask for advice and support from my tutors, who are always happy to help.”
When asked what her favourite part of the production Ciara replied “The requests from the sailor quartet to make their t-shirts tighter on their biceps! But on a more serious note, musical theatre is dynamic and forever changing, you need to adapt to changes which may happen on the night or just a few moments before the show. Unfortunately, a cast member had to step down during the production week which meant that the costumes had to be changed for their understudy. I will say that the understudy did an amazing job in stepping up for the role with just a few hours of preparation!”
What’s next? Both are concentrating on their university projects but “after doing this work experience opportunity very eager to get back into the industry and do it all again!”
What advice do they have for new students starting the course? Ciara said, “Take advantage of your lecturers having expert knowledge in the industry, pick their brain and be inquisitive. Continue to make your own projects in your personal time as this will provide variety in your portfolio. Get involved in as much mixer opportunities as you can or make friends with people on other courses, you never know who you might meet, and collaboration is an important part of your degree.” Katie added to “enjoy yourself and to take on as many opportunities as possible. I have really enjoyed my time at uni so far and that is because the course enables me to be ambitious and creative so its important to take advantage of that.”
If you are interested in studying costume at degree level our BA (Hons) Costume Interpretation with Design degree offers a dynamic course with excellent connections and opportunities for students. Graduates and Alumni have finished their degree’s to do fantastic things working in productions such as Peaky Blinders, Star Wars, Killing Eve, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey and more. Check out our degree programme page for all more information and to apply.
