Many Costume construction work rooms, especially in Theatre Departments in US Colleges and Universities, are referred to as the “Costume Shop”, while others are called a “Costume Studio”. Essentially, they mean the same thing to the workers, the choice is largely made one way or the other because of perceived values associated with the two names, and efforts by the managers/namers of these spaces to get equal status and worker pay with the Scene Shop in the same building, or equal status, funding and worker pay with other artistic departments in a college. (Side note: Interestingly, unlike most other American theatre terminology these two choices are not based on English models, as in the UK these spaces are most often referred to as “Costume Workrooms”).
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Portfolios and Resumes
PORTFOLIOS FOR ALL YOUR JOBS: Most advice on portfolios for costumers tends to center on straight design portfolios. Yet there are relatively few design jobs out there that consist solely of costume design. My own fairly typical university position at UAF is supposed to consist of equal parts of teaching, research, and public service in my field. In other words, for my job I must, in addition to costume design all shows, teach classes in costume design, costume history, stage makeup and theatre history, do research and publications in my field, do related public services like curate exhibits of costumes for museums, advise local schools about costumes and makeup for shows, teach every sort of cutting and construction in the costume shop, and do periodic displays, posters, and photos for publicity. For me to go to an interview with only a design portfolio would be to leave out more than two-thirds of my work.
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The Old c. 1995 Costumer’s Manifesto “Book” that started before I thought to start putting this stuff on the internet in 1996….
A Book of General Advice for Costumers
By Tara Maginnis Ph.D. The first “self-help” manual for those artists who make clothes for imaginary people.