This summer has been one that I will not forget– at least, not for a while. That is partly because of how I spent it. For five weeks, I worked for this theatre company in my hometown where the productions they've done recently starred all children, only because the summer camps they run attract a lot of children quickly, and I mean a lot of children.
So, I worked as the costume intern for the summer. Besides the nonexistent pay, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I ever had. I felt as though I made a major contribution to making sure the shows are running smoothly, which they did for the most part. If something went wrong, the audience never noticed but there would be panic backstage. Whenever I was thanked for my work, I would leave the theater with a big smile on my face and I would be in such a good mood for the rest of the day.
I honestly enjoyed working with costumes. It's easy to see what fits on a kid, what doesn't, and labeling which pieces of clothing belonged to which kid— I have to give them credit, they were very good at keeping track what belonged to them. And because of that job, I know how to sew buttons onto a shirt and how to iron. I think one of the tricks to become a good costumer is to be open to some compromise, but not all of it. If a kid doesn't like their costume, the costumer should hear their complaints, but it's the costumer's final decision on what the actor should wear,
not the other way around.
I only worked for four shows– that's how many the company offers for the summer– but I saw costumes of all shapes and sizes, textures, designs, as well as the accessories that went with them. The picture below was when we did
The Little Mermaid Jr. and this was for the girl playing Sebastian. The four shows we put on: (in this order)
Les Misérables: School Edition, The Little Mermaid Jr, Fame Jr, and
Guys and Dolls Jr.
Of course, while working– paid or not– you're not bound to like all of your co-staff nor the clients (well, mainly the kids, although you have to love theater moms). Out of the 35 kids I had to help costume per week, there was; at least one kid that I couldn't stand— and I tried to, I really did— one that abosultely hated their costume, one I secretly fangirled over, one that I genuinely respected, and one who kept having costume troubles every show.
And for two weeks (same camper, ergo same mother), there was a stage mom who was always very protective over what her daughter wore onstage and asked Cheryl (the costumer's name) if she could help in any way. During one show, the daughter took off her jacket as she thought it would show time had passed in the show. Out of nowhere, the mother is backstage, demanding for her daughter to put it on because her entire bra was showing. (In all actuality, you could barely see her bra strap and it looked as though she was wearing a camisole underneath.) It was completely ridiculous.
One thing I noticed about these kids was that they were very cliquèy. They liked the people they knew were going to be at the camp and rarely bonded with anyone else outside their little group. Plus, at their auditions (yes I know, they shouldn't have auditions if it was a camp, but they do), they easily sized up their other cast members, already precasting who's going to get what role and it annoys the crap out of me. You're supposed to have fun at theater camp, not feel incredibly insecure.
I have memories– both good and bad– I can share from all four shows. Each show touched me in its own way. I enjoyed Les Misérables because they were the oldest cast (the youngest was 13) and they all had done theatre before, so they knew what to do and how to make sure they got themselves onstage on time. I knew a good portion of them already so I felt sad when they had to leave- however, they were the most cliquèy out of the four. The picture below was the set of Les Mis.
The Little Mermaid Jr. was such a shock to me, when comparing its cheerful costumes to the seriousness and darkness of Les Mis. It was the most colorful - well, there were a lot of children playing fish, but they had a lot of tiny accessories and glitter and it just looked so Disney. There weren't that many problems that happened with the show. But these kids were very hyper, and so it made me nervous how we managed to have three shows with them- some as young as eight!
Fame Jr. was a perfect example of a show having good and bad. Some good things included how I had gotten a cameo appearance- actually two- during every performance. Plus, I wasn't really needed for the kids to change backstage. Either some had very minor ones they could handle or were changing right offstage, in the wings. But some bad things happened too. First off, they had a million questions, complained quite often and never listened when they were given directions. They just liked to swarm and be everywhere, it was aggravating. The costume room became the unofficial staff room between shows and when the door was closed, the kid better be dying if they came in. Plus, this show has a pretty deep message about leaving something behind and working hard in high school, and the majority of the kids didn't even graduate from elementary school yet, and they didn't really capture the emotion of the show! The picture below was what I wore for my cameo (I pretended to be the school's costumer, ha!)
Guys and Dolls Jr. was a mix also, although it wasn't as bad as Fame. This show was the only one that I knew fairly well before the first rehearsal started. A couple of kids I knew from Les Mis were in this show as well. And I really liked some of the costumes. I had to hover over the girl who played Adelaide because she had a lot of quick changes- a bathroom offstage had to become her dressing room because she didn't have enough time to run upstairs. I also had to run everywhere because there were a couple of girls who had a lot of quick changes. They had to be girls for one scene and then in 5 minutes, they were police officers on the other side of the theater. And the girl who played General Cartwright had about 30 to 45 seconds to change from a doll to General Cartwright. It was exhausting, but when I had the chance to watch it, it was good.
The majority of the crew was pretty tolerable to work with. Everyone there had their own jobs to handle and, although we complained of our own jobs, we showed appreciation and admiration for the others. However, everyone had a problem with the Prop master and his intern/assistant- who was his college girlfriend. He rarely conversed with his other interns on what his plans were for props and apparently he blew the majority of the company's summer prop budget at an auction finding things for Les Mis- it was rumored he bought $25 scissors.
I adore Cheryl, she was the greatest boss I could've ever had. She was the kind of person I want to grow up to be! She was so nice to me— and so patient. It was nice to learn from her and to talk to her. If I return back to the company next year, I would definitely want to work with her again!
Did I enjoy this summer? You bet. Would I work there again next year? There's a good chance I will— you never know! And I will try to be up-to-date on my posts!
