Glossary of Terms

anything carried or worn on top of the basic costume for decorative purposes, e.g. a shawl, a purse.

a particular theory or way of looking at or thinking about beauty and art.

usually used to describe an artistic endeavour or group regarded as advanced or daring in terms of ideas, technique or practice.

a pattern which is the starting point for a more detailed pattern based on a particular actor’s measurements, and reflecting specifics like historical period.

sewing fabric pieces together with long or loose temporary stitches.

the structured garment covering a woman’s upper body, or the upper part of a woman’s dress.

describes different processes used to age or distress a costume so that it no longer looks new; paint, glue, cheese-graters, dye, ripping, tearing can all be used in the process.

in literature, a fixed, recognized collection of texts often used to describe the complete works of an author, e.g. Shakespeare’s canon; the sacred books of any sect or religion.

development of a character through acting.

the act of working together.

this Italian form of popular comedy (16th to 18th Century) featured masked, stock characters (angry old fathers, young lovers, rascally servants) who improvised much of the dialogue. Its influence is seen in plays by many playwrights, including Shakespeare, Molière and Marivaux.

a close-fitting undergarment, able to be tightened (by laces or hooks and eyes) and supported by sewn-in boning, used to support the figure or give it a desired shape. Historically whalebones were used; today we’d use strips of metal or plastic.

the process of constructing the costume.

a list or chart made by the costume designer showing the characters appearing in each scene, and what they are wearing. This helps track each character’s whereabouts throughout the play.

the group of theatrical collaborators (director, designers, composer and choreographer, if used) who make the creative/aesthetic choices.

a crucial turning point in a plot; the event that changes the direction of the plot.

skilled wardrobe craftsperson who creates the patterns and is responsible for the construction of the costumes you see on stage. Cutters create costumes for female roles. (Tailors create costumes for men’s roles.) Depending on the period the director and designer have chosen for the play, the cutter will devise the appropriate pattern using either flat drafting or draping. The cutter’s tools include: craft paper, T-square, fashion ruler (a curved instrument), and the body measurements of the performer.

the artist who, after discussion with the director, creates the desired onstage look or sound, through costumes, sets, lighting or sound.

the person who, working in collaboration with the rest of the creative team, is responsible for overseeing the development of the production from text in script-form to performance on the stage or site. In practical terms the director defines how the production will look and sound, casts the actors, prepares actors through rehearsal and oversees the integration of the elements of lights, sets, costumes and sound.

creating a pattern by draping muslin on a dress form, pinning and tucking to get the desired shape, and transferring that shape to craft paper.

the adjustable torso (male and female) used by costume cutters, dressmakers and tailors for creating garments; useful for: creating shapes from which patterns are made (draping), fitting and detailed in-place sewing.

the last rehearsal before Opening or previews when all elements are present and the show is run as if for performance.

a dress style typical of the first French Empire (early 19th Century) featuring a high waistline, low cut neckline on the bodice and straight, loose skirt.

a small piece of fabric large enough to use as a colour sample or to test the effects of dye.

a 16th and 17th Century skirt made to fit over a structure of hoops, or over the structure itself.

an assistant to a cutter or tailor who may sew the costume together, assist at fittings, supervise the sewing team and do the finishing details on a costume.

the process of adjusting the costume to the actor’s body.

the use of a basic block and cutter’s tools to draft a pattern on craft paper.

the way a particular fabric feels when it is touched; it may have a soft hand, or a crisp hand, etc.

person overseeing all aspects of theatrical production, especially with regard to budgeting and building.

person in charge of the wardrobe and responsible for budgeting, supplies, staff allocation.

socks or stockings.

having the characteristic of an icon (small devotional depiction of Christ and the Virgin Mary, a venerated picture); i.e. a small and often potent symbol of something larger and more general, like the red maple leaf on the Canadian flag, which immediately signals “Canada”, national pride or a mental image of the country.

an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant; for example, verbal irony occurs when you step outside to a morning rainstorm and say to yourself, “Lovely day!” Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the character does not. Situational irony occurs when the outcome of an event is the exact opposite of what was expected.

anything that proceeds along a line; linear style in storytelling occurs when one event follows another in chronological order.

a model of the set or costume sketch intended for use by the builder as a guide to construction.

a specialist in making hats.

describes movements in art and design, especially visual art and music, in which expression is reduced to its fundamental features.

a full-scale model of a costume, used as a test-run.

this 20th Century philosophical and practical break-with-the-past in arts and literature is seen in many innovative styles and movements. The architecture of Modernism (International Style) features box-like shapes with few decorative details.

a simply woven cotton fabric used to make the costume mockup, also called factory cotton or unbleached cotton.

in reference to art (including theatre), the belief that life should be presented with the kind of objectivity comparable to that used in scientific description; on stage, details of set, props and costumes would be as true-to-life as possible.

the recording of details, comments on performance quality, things to be fixed, etc. The Stage Manager communicates “notes” to and from the production team throughout the rehearsal process. Notes also refers to the session following a rehearsal or performance in which the director makes comments, suggestions, changes, etc.

the first performance, often the first time a paying-audience sees the show, certainly the first opportunity for a theatre critic to attend.

a movement of ideas arising from, but also critical of, elements of modernism. Artistically it is characterized by a lack of a clear central hierarchy or structure, and embodies complexity, contradiction, ambiguity, diversity and interconnectedness. Visual details often make reference to the past.

the costume designer’s first rough drawings which are assessed for feasibility and affordability.

the organizing principal that a production embodies; for example, the director’s decision to set a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a 21st Century high-tech corporation would constitute a production concept.

any costume change completed when an actor has a limited amount of time, sometimes as few as twenty seconds.

refers to the practices of set, costume and lighting design and their relationship to the audience, either in conventional or non-conventional performance spaces. Some people include sound as a scenographic function, since it enhances visuals.

a figure whose outline indicates the shape of clothing in a particular historical period.

the practice of painting, drawing or designing a subject in a fixed, conventional or artificial manner (as opposed to naturalistic).

Costumes stored from previous productions for recycling and re-use.

ruler, with perpendicular crosspiece at one end (it looks like the letter “T”), used for establishing and drawing parallel lines.

an expert in building mens clothing: historic costumes, military costumes and formal wear. A tailor would create the patterns for jackets, trousers and shirts using the actor’s body measurements.

the rehearsal(s) at which various production elements – sound, lighting, prop movement, but not costumes – are integrated with performance elements.

the rehearsal at which all the production elements, including costumes, are integrated.

the visual accounting or description of something in a way that is imaginatively, but not necessarily literally, applicable; for example, an onstage tree might be seen by the audience as a simple tree on one level, but it might also carry associations with growth, family tree, reaching for the sky, etc.

the costumes of a theatre or theatre troupe, also the room or department in which they are made, and in some cases, stored.