Kennedy Black

The storage room in the Theatre Wesleyan Costume Shop holds racks of costumes from past productions.

A walk into the basement of Theatre Wesleyan is a journey that is accompanied by dimly lit hallways and pale walls. An eerie introduction to the building eventually leads into a spacious underground room that blooms of a special kind of chaos. Fabrics of different hues, mannequins at every turn and mirrors on every surface define the character of this vast bright space.  

This is the Costume Shop, home to the costume design of Theatre Wesleyan productions. Clothing racks of decadent pieces command most of this space and establish this room as a never-ending wardrobe storage and creation site. The energy in the room exudes passion and dedication through garments that breathe life to the performing arts.  

Costumes remain an essential factor in defining a character in a production. Their aura, movements and beliefs can be portrayed through costuming choices. The costume shop at Theatre Wesleyan works to bring a story and character to life, gearing them with their own individualistic style.  

“We basically create the world of the play and its first impression that conveys the character. We work to embrace key elements while putting them together in a cohesive design,” said visiting Professor of Theatre in costume and scenic design Karen Potter.  

To some actors, costume design determines exactly how they want the character to be portrayed.

“I’ve learned that whenever I put my costume on, it helps me to be more into my character and to embody it. I can start off struggling with how my character should move, but when I put on my costume and jewelry, all of that changes,” said senior costume shop assistant and theatre and sports communication major Madison McKinzie.  

To fully bring the visual production to life, assignments are sent out before the school year begins. The lead costume designer and team read through the script to gain creative insight into how they want the characters to translate on stage. 

“It’s primary research of what they want the design to look like and the facilitating of those designs,” said Potter.  

Most recently, Theatre Wesleyan has been prepping for their current live production, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] [Again].” The performance sees a cast of only three actors presenting all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays. With such a limited cast, the costume designers have implemented “quick changes” into the wardrobe involving changes from one costume to the next within seconds. Velcro and snaps are both fasteners that can quickly get a performer changed and into the next scene.  

Lead costume designer for this show, Jazmine Rebollar, has had an idea of the visual aspects of the costumes months prior to the show being announced to the public. Costumes are completely her vision; along with some help from Potter and Director Connie Witt Lambert, the garment decisions are hers to make.

“I did use mood boards—I used Pinterest a lot. I would always show Karen [Potter] and one of the directors, Connie, for their input on if they wanted it for the show. I did my research on the productions and actors that are playing in the show to get an idea on what the character would’ve worn,” said Rebollar, a junior musical theatre major.  

To conserve wardrobes from past plays, the costume shop has a stock that continuously increases after each production. In some ways, the stock acts as an archive, but it’s mostly a place to store costume items that will be reconstructed and used in future plays. Women and men, clothes and shoes, anything that may may be needed for a production lie in the storage.  

“It really is just stock so that we can reference some of the costumes in there from previous productions. But, because we’re always pulling from our stock, we’re modifying those. So, it’s not a concrete archive. Photography is more of our archive,” said Potter.  

What is seemingly Texas Wesleyan University’s only nod to fashion; the costume shop brings the magic to Theatre Wesleyan’s productions. Products of the costume design team will be on full display at the upcoming showings of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare”:  

• Friday, March 6 at 7:30 pm   

• Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 pm   

• Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 pm Matinee 

To buy tickets, click here.