From Helen Grady - Co-Producer
When it comes to costumes for theatre productions, there will be some people who can knock up three suits of chain mail before breakfast and make 42 sets of fairy wings in 24 hours. Others will find that they make buttons fall off just by looking at them. Most people are somewhere in between! I'm a dab hand at putting together some charity shop items and turning them into a costume but I could no more make a military uniform from scratch than fly to the moon.
Having said all that:
We would be delighted if you were able to help with providing a costume for the production. Don't panic though: if you cannot provide or find things on this list, we guarantee not to send anyone on stage without a costume! We do have a limited wardrobe available and we do expect to provide costumes for many of the participants. However, we also expect a large cast of all shapes and sizes, so if you can help by providing some items of your own we would be very pleased. At least that way you know your costume will fit! If you think you may also have items you could lend to others in the cast please bring them along. Please put your name in any costumes you bring. It is likely to be crowded and busy back stage and items often get mixed up.
If you have any queries, doubts or worries don't hesitate to contact us.
Items we would definitely like you to provide:
Girls:
White tights (ideally) or white over the knee socks.
Black ballet shoes or black, slip-on soft soled gym shoes or black, soft soled ballet-type slippers or shoes. We would prefer it if you did not wear character shoes or jazz shoes as you may need to remove a shoe and put it back on quickly (on stage!).
Ribbon or artificial flowers for hair.
Lady's handkerchief (any design or colour).
Boys:
Black or very dark navy school-type trousers (in case you are cast as a policeman).
Black, slip-on, soft-soled gym shoes (not trainers) or black jazz shoes (not jazz trainers) or plain black or dark coloured slippers. If you have long black boots, by all means bring them, but we may find they may make too much noise on stage, so please also bring a pair of black or dark coloured, soft-soled shoes as indicated.
Long socks.
You will also need formal, black school-style shoes (in case you are cast as a policeman).
No trainers please!
Items we would be delighted if you could provide:
Girls:
A long, full-skirted Victorian/bridesmaid type dress (preferably, but not essentially, in a pastel shade). Dresses should preferably have sleeves (short or long) as the sleeveless ones tend to look very modern, but it might be possible to add details (or sleeves!) to make a sleeveless dress look more Victorian.
Or a "girly" summer dress of any length (again, preferably with sleeves) with the skirt of the dress gathered up "bo-peep" style, worn over a long full skirt. If you choose this option, you might be able to find a long, adult's skirt in a charity shop which just needs the waist altering.
Or a long, reasonably full skirt and a long-sleeved "Victorian" style blouse, perhaps with a wide belt or sash.
And a long, old-fashioned style nightdress, ideally, but not essentially, with long sleeves. This should be cotton or flannelette or poly-cotton because satin or any synthetic materials will look very modern under stage lights. If it is not flannelette, you might also want to wear a petticoat underneath it, or at least some non-skimpy underwear! Younger girls could, if they prefer, wear traditional style pyjamas (i.e. long trousers and buttoned jacket tops), these would also need to be cotton/flannelette or poly-cotton.
Optional extras:
White gloves (lace ones look good) to wear with your dress or skirt and blouse.
Shawl to wear with nightdress, especially if your nightdress has short sleeves. Try to ensure that you can fasten it or tie it so that you don't have to hold it round you the whole time you are on stage.
Slippers to wear with nightdress.
You can quite often find many of the items above in charity shops, or older family members may have suitable night attire/blouse etc to borrow.
Boys:
Pirate gear suggestions:
We look forward to seeing some swashbuckling types. Jack Sparrow and his shipmates may provide inspiration!
A pair of trousers:
These can either be: long striped trousers (I know most people won't own them, but you never know!) or any pair of old trousers (not jeans) cut off around mid-calf length into a ragged pattern or knee breeches.
A striped shirt or a plain shirt (a bright colour would be good) with long sleeves.
A generous cut will help give the right look, so borrowing one from someone larger or getting a large one from a charity shop can work well. You may need to move the button on the cuffs and wear it with a belt or sash.
Or a plain, brightly coloured T-shirt (no logos) or a T-shirt with horizontal stripes.
A waistcoat: leather or leather-look waistcoats could be ideal, but it can be any kind of waistcoat - the more flamboyant the better. Women's waistcoats from charity shops can be good - or you might be able to find a suitable jacket from a charity shop.
A wide belt or a really brightly coloured sash to tie round your waist, Jack Sparrow style.
Brightly coloured or white or perhaps even striped LONG socks. Football/Rugby socks are fine provided the trousers cover the top half of the socks.
Optional extras:
A suitable scarf to tie into pirate headgear.
A pirate hat?
Plastic sword? (please make sure you only bring plastic ones!)
If you are cast as a policeman, you will need:
· Black (or very dark navy) trousers and black shoes. The rest of the costume will be provided.
Hair and make-up for the performances:
Hair
Girls
Please try to choose a style that A) doesn't take 4 hours to create! B) keeps hair off your face and C) is vaguely "Victorian". Ribbons or artificial flowers can look very pretty and appropriate. We can offer advice during the week of rehearsal if required.
BoysIf you have long hair you will probably need to have it tied back in a pony-tail. If your hair is not a very Victorian colour, be prepared to wear a hat or scarf!
Make-up. It would be considered most improper for General Stanley's daughters to be wearing make-up and no matter how good Johnny Depp looks in eye-liner, we would prefer our pirates not to copy him!
We will only be providing make-up for those actors playing "older" characters. A lot of make-up is not generally required, even in a large theatre (and can look decidedly odd on young faces). If someone has very fair lashes or eyebrows it may be helpful to darken them a little, but otherwise we would suggest a bare minimum of make-up or none at all. If girls wish to wear lipstick, then choosing a shade close to your natural lip colour is preferable. Please bring your own make-up if you intend to wear any.
We would definitely like to avoid orange faces, scarlet lips and bright blue eye-shadow!
Costumes for The Mikado