Being the Costume Supervisor for AUB Productions’ Emilia! has ignited my passion for supervision and confirmed what I want to do in the future. I have really enjoyed the process of seeing the show through to the end, from the first designs, right to the performance. Being able to see the costumes on stage whilst knowing the hours of hard work that you’ve put into it and seeing it all come together has been incredibly rewarding.
Firstly, trying to explain what supervision is to the people who don’t know about the different costume roles is probably the worst part about it! They assume that if you haven’t made one of the costumes, you’ve designed them, which isn’t the case. A supervisor’s role is the secret but essential person that communicates between the makers, designer, actors, and production team. Important skills for the role include being organised, communicating effectively between people, being able to lead a team of makers and fellow supervisors, and having key team-working skills. As supervisor, I have overseen a large costume budget. It was intimidating at first to be responsible for a huge sum of money that is not my own, especially as it was the largest show budget across all the shows this term. However, Excel was quickly added to my list of skills!
Being the supervisor for a made show meant that I have helped buy and source the different fabrics, trims, and fastenings required to make up a costume. Not only this, but I have also hired and bought the costumes that have not been made. With the help of Assistant Supervisor Fay Wilde and Head of Running Wardrobe Never O’Brien, I have done my best to assist the makers and execute the vision of the Costume Designer Bethany Lipscombe – all of them have been key pillars of support.
Researching the time of Emilia! has been essential to understanding and interpreting the costumes. It is set in the Tudor and Elizabethan period, which means I have looked into relevant paintings that depict the typical bodices, skirts, doublets, trunk hose, and ruffs of the period, as well as decoration. I was primarily interested in researching the men’s clothing, as I was more familiar with women’s clothing from previous projects. To further my research, I attended a ruff-making workshop with the head ruff maker on Mary & George, Marija Radojicic. I participated along with the makers to better understand the resources and techniques that go into constructing a ruff, to be able to support them in their making.
Leading and supporting a team of makers was an amazing opportunity to develop my communication skills and it required the ability to basically predict the future and know what they are going to need before they know that they need it! I also supported the makers during fittings and pre-assessment to ensure they got the most out of them and made sure that both the makers and actors were comfortable and happy with their costumes.
Another side of supervision that interests me is Head of Running Wardrobe. This role would focus more on the running of the show and leading a team of dressers to achieve the quick changes during the performance, as well as dressing and undressing the actors before and after. They work closely with the actors to ensure that they are comfortable and happy with their costumes during the run of the show, and they also deal with the not-so-glamourous washing!
Thank you to everyone that came to the show and supported Emilia! I am extremely lucky and privileged to have been able to work with an incredibly talented team of makers and supervisors on BA (Hons) Costume, as well as amazingly talented actors. Thank you to the costume tutors and technicians that have supported me throughout this term, and I look forward to the final term and Major Project.
