The costume shop in the basement of the Hopkins Center is home to a group of students and designers responsible for dressing the actors and actresses who perform in Dartmouth's many plays. Although this department tends to remain behind-the-scenes, it deserves center-stage recognition as it is indispensable to the College's theater program as a whole.
The shop located below Moore Theater is run by Bilbo, who works in conjunction with faculty designers, professional pattern makers, seamstresses and dyers. The shop also hosts ten work-study students, many of whom have been involved with the shop since their freshman Fall.
"The costume department has been the most incredible family over the past three years, helping me grow both personally and creatively," Samantha Reckford '13 said.
Whether finalizing costumes for a current show or conceptualizing outfits for productions months in advance, the shop is never short on activity. Student workers are constantly running around sorting through clothing donations, stocking inventory, stitching garments and ironing fabric.
Bilbo oversees the shop's budget, approving spending on textiles, dyes, threads and other supplementary materials. To remain organized, the group relies on the "Show Bible," a master book documenting all of the correspondence, fabric choices and design sketches of a play's production.
Bilbo works alongside designer and theater professor Laurie Kohn, who sketches complete looks for each actor, including props and accessories.
Before coming to Dartmouth, Kohn lived in New York City for 15 years, where she worked as the assistant costume designer on "Saturday Night Live" and helped put together Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell's looks for their famous cow bell sketch. She eventually decided she wanted to pursue teaching, and moved to New Hampshire in 2008.
Many students were inspired to join the costume shop after taking one of Kohn's costume design courses, despite any previous experience. Kemi Mugo '15 said she was accustomed to working with her hands from years of working with ceramics and playing instruments, while Maggie Flanagan '13 said she was proficient mainly in stitchery and embroidery. Both enjoy the diversion of working in the shop and feel they can apply the skills learned in the classroom to their artistic endeavors.
Bilbo arrived at Dartmouth at the advice of Kohn, who she knew from professional theater. Bilbo was previously the associate costume director at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington D.C. and a freelance design assistant in New York City.
Prior to graduate school, Bilbo had committed herself to a career in set design, but realized she gravitated more towards costumes, as this path seemed more "natural," she said. Similarly, upon entering the shop her freshman year, Reckford instantly fell in love and felt like everything "just clicked," she said.
Bilbo and Kohn said that beyond their obvious aesthetic importance, costumes are essential to the characterization of actors and the ultimate success of a production.
"They help the audience accept the world that we are creating for them," Bilbo said.
During live performances, the students stand backstage, keeping track of the myriad costume changes and props needed in each individual scene.
While this job might seem overwhelming, the students value the showtime experience, as they are finally able to see all of the work they have done come to fruition.
"We [look at the stage] thinking, There is that tie I helped select! Those are the pants that I hemmed! That's the mask that I painted!'" Reckford said. "We get to see our work come alive."
Reckford and Flanagan both noted that period plays often necessitate the most ornate and elaborate costumes.
Time is devoted to dress construction, pattern cuttings and hand-sewn embroidery. Certain costumes are also feats of mechanical engineering, whose successful executions require innovative thought and strategic planning.
Mugo said she recalled the challenge of working to build angel wings durable enough to hang from the stage's ceiling during the play "Angels in America" last Fall.
The students and faculty shop members are excited by the variation and creativity their job entails, as it brings an energy to the studio that prevents their work from becoming tedious.
"One day I'm reorganizing the jewelry collection, the next I'm lacing an actress into a corset or searching for a pair of glittery platforms that will fit a men's [size] 14 foot...you never know!" Reckford said.
The costume shop is currently busy designing costumes for the upcoming adaption of Pierre Corneille's comedy "The Liar."
