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Unwritten designer etiquette
Dec. 15th, 2010 07:40 amThere's a week left of the run on Shipwrecked, the show i designed for the mainstage at work, and i've got tickets with a college pal to see it one last time tonight. I have to say, it's rare to design a show, sit through its rehearsal runs, its tech and dress rehearsals and previews, it's opening...and still want to see it again. Extraordinary. And honestly, a part of me wants to go to the closing matinee, too, i just love it that much.
But, this post wasn't supposed to be about me faffing around about a specific show or a specific design--i want to talk about traditions and expectations and etiquette for costume designers, which are not specifically cited in any textbook. I'm talking from a perspective of designers who are working with a resident shop at a commercial, regional, or academic theatre company/dept. Obviously this won't be applicable in situations where a designer is doing a "one man band" type of deal, and is doing the draping, stitching, etc. all by her/himself as well.
I'll start by listing a few customs that come to my mind, but i'd love it if some of y'all would jump into the comments if you think of any others!
So first up: shop treats. You aren't going to get fired if you don't bring these in, but it's customary to do so at least once or twice in the course of a production's construction calendar. Since i'm a production artisan 95% of the time, i'm usually on the treat-eating end of this. It's most common for the designer to bring in pastries or sweets, in the shops i've worked in at least, but i'm always grateful when a healthier option is provided as well--a fruit basket or a veggie tray or some trail mix. The shop treat custom shows the workers that you appreciate the long hours and hard work they are putting in to bring your designs to reality--inevitably some drapers and stitchers and assistants will wind up skipping a lunch to make a fitting deadline or staying late through dinner, and the gesture of the shop treat acknowledges that to the staff. I've heard people say they were too broke to do this, but really, if you are a working designer who itemizes, it's a $20-30 expenditure you can write off, that cultivates SO much goodwill, it's worth it (IMO).
Second: inquire about the shop's sensitivity to superstitions and respect them. Some people (me included) don't put any credence in theatre superstitions beyond finding them interesting novelties, but those who do can be extremely sensitive and serious about them. You can do some beautiful designs and be an otherwise wonderful, personable designer, but if you roll into a shop whistling with an armload of peacock feathers, throw a hat onto an Equity cot and start yammering about Macbeth, you will make some enemies without even knowing it.
Third: opening night gifts. Some people don't give these at all. Some only give them to the other members of the creative team, or the shop leadership. You decide who you want to give them to. The cast, too? Just the team leaders or all the production staff? Etc. It might be individual cards of thanks, or tiny boxes of chocolates or some other little token. Some designers bring in a shared gift for the whole shop (like a shop treat--a fruitbasket or cake or something). Again, it's not something that will keep you from getting work in the future, if you don't give out opening night gifts, but it certainly fosters a lot of goodwill.
For this last show, i gave personally inscribed cards to the cast, the director, stage management, the props folks with whom the shop collaborated on crossover pieces, and every person in the costume shop. The props crew, stitchers, and wardrobe crew also got tiny 2-pc boxes of chocolate, and the shop management, draper, first hands, and craftspeople all got the chocolate boxes plus vintage handkerchiefs. I recognize that my designs wouldn't have come to successful fruition without all of those people--not just the artisans who made them, but also the actors who performed in them and the direction/stage management that put the show together as a whole. Saying thank you is all you are really expected to do, but I believe in acknowledging it more formally.
I think this goes on a show-by-show basis--the show i designed before this one had a cast of two and nearly no shop support, so my opening night gifts went only to the creative team and the two actors, and the manager who assisted me. I've had designers whose gift was to buy a case of wine or keg of beer for the company's opening night afterparty, some who made little inkjet-printed thank-you notecards with a stage shot or research image on them, and one who gave everyone in the shop a signed copy of a costume design rendering for the costume they draped/stitched/etc. After Nicholas Nickleby, our designer gave the shop certificates for massages, which i think most everybody needed pretty bad at that point! There's no rules, and it can be really fun to put these things together, in a Zen sort of way, a time to reflect on the ups and downs and ultimate successes of collaborative art.
That third one is something i'd guesstimate that around a third to half of the designers i've worked for have done--opening night gifts or cards to the shop. I mention it because it's always something that cultivates joyful sentiment, particularly if the show has had some big challenges we've had to surmount, and it always goes a long way toward making a shop see a designer in a positive light and welcome working with them again. And again, it's something you can write off your taxes just like a business lunch or gas for a fabric-shopping trip.
I think there's some other stuff i could mention here--taking the time to learn the names of the staff, talking to everyone in a fitting (i.e., not treating the actor like a human dress form, acknowledging the draper as a collaborant instead of a servant, etc.)--but i'm running out of time. Got to get to work and begin setting up for the Costume Shop Holiday Party this afternoon! Please do comment if you have other examples of unwritten traditions, or thoughts on/experiences with these i've mentioned!
But, this post wasn't supposed to be about me faffing around about a specific show or a specific design--i want to talk about traditions and expectations and etiquette for costume designers, which are not specifically cited in any textbook. I'm talking from a perspective of designers who are working with a resident shop at a commercial, regional, or academic theatre company/dept. Obviously this won't be applicable in situations where a designer is doing a "one man band" type of deal, and is doing the draping, stitching, etc. all by her/himself as well.
I'll start by listing a few customs that come to my mind, but i'd love it if some of y'all would jump into the comments if you think of any others!
So first up: shop treats. You aren't going to get fired if you don't bring these in, but it's customary to do so at least once or twice in the course of a production's construction calendar. Since i'm a production artisan 95% of the time, i'm usually on the treat-eating end of this. It's most common for the designer to bring in pastries or sweets, in the shops i've worked in at least, but i'm always grateful when a healthier option is provided as well--a fruit basket or a veggie tray or some trail mix. The shop treat custom shows the workers that you appreciate the long hours and hard work they are putting in to bring your designs to reality--inevitably some drapers and stitchers and assistants will wind up skipping a lunch to make a fitting deadline or staying late through dinner, and the gesture of the shop treat acknowledges that to the staff. I've heard people say they were too broke to do this, but really, if you are a working designer who itemizes, it's a $20-30 expenditure you can write off, that cultivates SO much goodwill, it's worth it (IMO).
Second: inquire about the shop's sensitivity to superstitions and respect them. Some people (me included) don't put any credence in theatre superstitions beyond finding them interesting novelties, but those who do can be extremely sensitive and serious about them. You can do some beautiful designs and be an otherwise wonderful, personable designer, but if you roll into a shop whistling with an armload of peacock feathers, throw a hat onto an Equity cot and start yammering about Macbeth, you will make some enemies without even knowing it.
Third: opening night gifts. Some people don't give these at all. Some only give them to the other members of the creative team, or the shop leadership. You decide who you want to give them to. The cast, too? Just the team leaders or all the production staff? Etc. It might be individual cards of thanks, or tiny boxes of chocolates or some other little token. Some designers bring in a shared gift for the whole shop (like a shop treat--a fruitbasket or cake or something). Again, it's not something that will keep you from getting work in the future, if you don't give out opening night gifts, but it certainly fosters a lot of goodwill.
For this last show, i gave personally inscribed cards to the cast, the director, stage management, the props folks with whom the shop collaborated on crossover pieces, and every person in the costume shop. The props crew, stitchers, and wardrobe crew also got tiny 2-pc boxes of chocolate, and the shop management, draper, first hands, and craftspeople all got the chocolate boxes plus vintage handkerchiefs. I recognize that my designs wouldn't have come to successful fruition without all of those people--not just the artisans who made them, but also the actors who performed in them and the direction/stage management that put the show together as a whole. Saying thank you is all you are really expected to do, but I believe in acknowledging it more formally.
I think this goes on a show-by-show basis--the show i designed before this one had a cast of two and nearly no shop support, so my opening night gifts went only to the creative team and the two actors, and the manager who assisted me. I've had designers whose gift was to buy a case of wine or keg of beer for the company's opening night afterparty, some who made little inkjet-printed thank-you notecards with a stage shot or research image on them, and one who gave everyone in the shop a signed copy of a costume design rendering for the costume they draped/stitched/etc. After Nicholas Nickleby, our designer gave the shop certificates for massages, which i think most everybody needed pretty bad at that point! There's no rules, and it can be really fun to put these things together, in a Zen sort of way, a time to reflect on the ups and downs and ultimate successes of collaborative art.
That third one is something i'd guesstimate that around a third to half of the designers i've worked for have done--opening night gifts or cards to the shop. I mention it because it's always something that cultivates joyful sentiment, particularly if the show has had some big challenges we've had to surmount, and it always goes a long way toward making a shop see a designer in a positive light and welcome working with them again. And again, it's something you can write off your taxes just like a business lunch or gas for a fabric-shopping trip.
I think there's some other stuff i could mention here--taking the time to learn the names of the staff, talking to everyone in a fitting (i.e., not treating the actor like a human dress form, acknowledging the draper as a collaborant instead of a servant, etc.)--but i'm running out of time. Got to get to work and begin setting up for the Costume Shop Holiday Party this afternoon! Please do comment if you have other examples of unwritten traditions, or thoughts on/experiences with these i've mentioned!
