June 2003 Table of Contents

Special Feature
Solving the Case of the Missing Costumes

By Chris Sandstrom, Heaven Sent Designs

There seems to be a reoccurring mystery in the majority of churches who are presenting dramatic presentations each year. Where oh where have our costumes gone? Who has borrowed and not returned them? "I thought sure I'd ordered helmets last year." Oops, this should have been washed before putting it in the storage closet. I know this happens because of all the calls we get in early December and just before Easter each year. These questions come up in times of stress and can result in downright panic. The real important question is, what are you going to do at the last minute to replace or refurbish what is missing or damaged in time for the dress rehearsal?

After working with drama/costumes for the last 15 years, I finally found a system that is working really well for our church. We have started it on a small scale and since it is proving itself so effective, we see no reason why it won't work for the largest of drama departments.

First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL, built a new children's ministry facility. One of the features of this magnificent building is a 500-seat theater complete with stage, lights, backdrops, and props. Four Bible stories are dramatized each year for the elementary grade children. Each play is presented 3-4 times during the Sunday school class time, with the grades rotating. The cast is pulled mainly from the college/career, and singles classes. While the building was under construction, the children collected loose change for a year to fund the cost of a fully stocked costume closet, extra props, and makeup. Costumes were purchased so that just about any story in the Bible could be presented with casts of approx. 45 people. You can probably imagine how many robes, headpieces of various types, belts, cloaks, etc. that would entail. This requires keeping track of hundreds of parts. We also allow the Sunday school teachers to borrow costumes during the times when a play is not being presented. This enables them to really bring the lesson alive while being dressed in a period costume and staying in character. I knew that a system would need to be developed to protect, maintain, and maximize the investment made by the church and the children and therefore we first set some rules that we follow to the "T."

1. No costume leaves the children's building for any reason.
2. The costumes are to be used only for the elementary grades and their ministries. A written request form is submitted to the wardrobe mistress 2 weeks before the date of use.
3. The costume is signed out by the person who is using it and signed in by the wardrobe mistress when it is returned.
4. Costumes for Sunday use are picked up before class time on Sunday morning, and returned before the worship service begins.
5. No costume is removed from the wardrobe room without the consent of the wardrobe mistress, or a designated person in the absence of the mistress.
6. Costumes needed for the dramatic presentations take precedence over those requested by the teachers. The rules may sound harsh, but we have learned the hard and costly way, that they are necessary.

The method used to inventory all the costume parts was to assign each a letter/number combination. Every piece is recorded in a master book. Every character has all the costume parts, descriptions, and letter/number combination on a form. Every costume is stored with all its parts on a hanger (except for formed headwear, sandals, or wigs) with a bright colored tag attached. This tag also has the character name, size, all parts listed with their letter/number identifier, as well as suggested props such as any small hand props, which would be appropriate. When the costume is pulled for someone to use, the tag is removed, and a new tag is attached with the name of the person who will be using it. The new tag also has a number written on it, which is the amount of separate pieces they are taking. When the costume is returned the parts are counted, the original tag is replaced, and the wardrobe mistress signs the checkout form. If the costume needs repair or laundering, it is done the following week and returned by Sunday.

To further organize the wardrobe room, we separated the costumes into the following categories: Women, Men, Children, Royalty, Military, and Special Characters. We had shelves installed to hold all the wigs on styro forms, store all the crowns, helmets, and formed headpieces, and sandals. A full-length mirror, sewing machine, iron and ironing board, sewing repair kit, and extra heavy-duty hangers were all added. Hooks and brackets were added to the walls to hold spear, swords, shields, and staffs. This has worked much better than just standing them up in a corner. One of our men built us a custom rolling garment rack tall enough to keep the long Kings' robes off of the floor, and large enough to hold all the costumes and accessories for an entire cast. This is the working rack, which goes from the wardrobe room to the backstage dressing area. Since our wardrobe room is long and narrow, we found it easier to take the costumes to larger staging area, than to have each actor descend upon the room all at the same time. A large laundry basket is available to catch all the parts that need to be laundered before the next performance. A general supply basket containing tape, safety pins, clothespins, glue, a hot glue gun, extension cord, and scissors is available for emergency repairs as well as an assortment of extra belts, scarf ties, and head scarves.

Following the rules and staying current with cleaning and repair of the costumes assures you of having them ready and accessible when you need them. If you already have a working system, I would remind you of just a couple more things. Remember that the program is not really over until all costumes and props are repaired, cleaned, and stored properly. In the event that you need additional costumes that will need to be purchased, be sure to order well in advance of the dress rehearsal date. Just as it is no fun to hear "I'm sorry, we are out of stock on that item," it gives no pleasure to have to refuse to help when there are no extra resources of material or time.

I would challenge you to implement an inventory system, some rules, and appoint someone to be in charge of the wardrobe closet. The months between Easter and September are a perfect time to take on the project and then enjoy the benefits when the time comes to use the costumes in your productions. Case solved!

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