The Fitting Room

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Uncategorized

The fitting room can be one of the scariest places in the theatre.  Large intact egos enter, and are left torn and broken on a regular basis.

Designers, technicians, and actors alike typically enter the fitting room one way, and leave it changed.  Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

One of the greatest things effecting the outcome of a fitting room session is the attitude you have within it.

If everyone is amicable, easy-going, relaxed, and awake (ie: caffeinated and or appropriately medicated) the fitting generally runs more smoothly.  A willingness to work co-operatively as well as a sense of humor can gloss over many insults – real or imagined.

You must grow a thick skin.  Everyone wants a final, fantastic product.  But the designer’s vision of that product and the actor’s vision of that product are often two different things.  That’s what makes theatre a collaboration – and what gives many of us ulcers during shows.

Unless you are building the entire costume, often what you find/pull/buy is not exactly what you drew.  And there is usually an understanding from others in the room that the sketch really is just your inspiration, a starting point.  Occasionally, actors don’t understand, and assume that you will find/pull/buy your sketch down to the detail.  In that case, you may need to say, bluntly, several times, “the sketch is really just an inspiration.”  By engaging in discussion, you find out what the actor is seeing in the sketch that he/she really likes, and can change what you buy, or how you alter the pulled pieces.

Some of the most challenging things you can have in the fitting room are distractions.

These take many forms.  Loud music, pets, children, extra personnel, even well meaning directors can add frustrating elements for both the person being fit, and the one doing the fitting.

Just last week I had an actor bring her younger daughter to a fitting.  Not only did the person who was supposed to be taking notes feel that now she needed to babysit the kid so that she wasn’t in the way, but the actor seemed to take the 8-year-old child’s comments on the pieces I had pulled over my own assertions that we could adapt them into the perfect outfit.  I completely agree that bringing your child to work can be a fantastic learning experience and a wonderful introduction into the backstage world, but this was beyond frustrating.

We all have horror stories about things that have happened in the fitting room.  I also have many wonderful memories of pulling a piece and thinking there was only a 1% chance that it would work only to find that on the actor it was PERFECT!  The fitting can be an exciting time of discovery if it is handled well.

Just keep your ego in check, and remember to roll with the punches.

2 Comments to The Fitting Room

michelle
March 21, 2010

I hate the line, “I think it’s ugly, I won’t wear it,” that may be so but your not wearing it, your character is. I cannot recall how many times I’ve found a perfect piece that looked fabulous but the actor felt it wasn’t to their individual taste so it was scrapped.
Although… I do love when an actor want’s to add a little bit of themselves to a costume through an accessory.

suzy
April 25, 2010

I agree, I do community theater for 11-17 year olds. I made a beautiful ball gown for the lead.. her 2 words to describe it? “pink” and “long” (I hadn’t hemmed it yet). As I am new to theater costuming, and this was the first period play we did (Meet me in St. Louis), I was hurt, then angry. After speaking to the director, I have found a new way to respond. “I’m not dressing you, I’m dressing your character.”

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