Theatre Tips

Costumes:

 This month's subject for Theatre Tips is "Costumes." Any contributions by readers are welcome (see below).

THE TABARD

 The tabard is nothing more than a rectangle of cloth with a hole in the center. When the head of the actor goes through the hole, half the cloth hangs in front of the actor, and half behind, down to the desired length. It is an elegantly simple basic tunic from which many costumes can easily be built. It can serve for many folktales and fairy tales. Make it of coarse cloth such as burlap, belt it with a rope, and you have virtually any kind of peasant costume. Make it from a more graceful cloth which drapes well, make it shoulder wide, let it hang to the knees for the men, or to the ankles for the women and belt it with an elegant chord or ribbon and you have a Greek chiton. Make it of stiffer felt, get rid of the belt, and applique a cross or coat of arms on the front and it becomes a knight's tunic or a musketeer's cape. Widen it to the wrists (with the hands are held straight out) and seam the sides, and you have created a tribal robe. Select the fabric appropriate to the culture, time period and class of the character. It can give a show a simple, quick ensemble look: make tabards all of black or of a variety of bright colors with belts to match and they instantly create a unified look. Add hats, shawls, capes or other costume pieces to create specific characters. For a simple in-class performance, old curtains, bedspreads, sheets and table cloths, or fabric scraps from the local thrift store can easily costume an ensemble for little or no cost what-so-ever. There is nothing quite as quick to bring a young actor "out of himself" than to put him in a costume, almost any costume, and show him a mirror.

Note: This tip and many more ideas for productions for theatre for young people may be found in the book "Producing the School Play". For more information on this book, go to http://www.creativeeducationalsystems.com/web_files/Producing.html

Help us with your ideas:
To comment on this idea, or offer costume suggestions of your own for producing plays for schools, community theatres or any low budget productions, write us at comments@creativeeducationalsystems.com. Your thoughts will be posted to this site.

Note: This tip and many more ideas for productions for theatre for young people may be found in the book Producing the School Play. For more information, go to http://www.creativeeducationalsystems.com/web_files/Producing.html

Note: This tip and many more ideas for productions for theatre for young people may be found in the book Producing the School Play. For more information, go to http://www.creativeeducationalsystems.com/web_files/Producing.html



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