Sewing machines, Vinted and a residency in the ADC dressing room: the life of a Cambridge costume designer

At the bottom of any show’s application, you’ll inevitably find a request for costume design. Every show needs someone to make sure the actors aren’t performing naked and, more importantly, that they look good. But what exactly does a costume designer do? TO DO? I spoke to two of them, Abi Beton and Rose Beedle, about what they love about their roles and how they approach them, but also the challenges they face as some of Cambridge theatre’s most underrated team members.

Costume is first and foremost an art form. Both Rose and Abi had experience before Cambridge, but found that the ADC gave them the opportunity to showcase it to the public. Both have worked in a wide variety of shows, from musicals to short films, which have varying demands but also a great deal of creative freedom. Rose detailed this diversity: “A musical, for example, will often require costumes that an actor can dance in. Shows may require costumes that you can fight in, with fake blood spilled, etc. Part of the fun of being a costume designer is going through the script and seeing how you’re going to make the costumes with those demands in mind.” Abi summed up the process as: “A LOT of time spent on Vinted and in charity shops getting all the costumes you can find at the best possible price” – as well as the need to be inventive. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged Version) In Michaelmas, Abi used unconventional props, such as balloons and knee-high socks, to create a range of eccentric costumes. For those considering the role, Rose describes it as a great deal of creative freedom and control, but without the stress of overseeing multiple aspects of the production, as is the case with directing.

“Cambridge theatre costume designers just don’t get the same credit”

Despite their efforts, it’s clear that the Cambridge Theatre costume designers don’t get the same recognition for their work as other members of a production, even among the cast and crew. According to Rose, the one thing she would change about her job is “the appreciation of costumes as an art, both by the rest of the show’s team and by critics.” Too often, a review only mentions technology when something is wrong, ignoring the many hours of work that go into costumes and make a show more immersive. Yet when costumes are done well, they really do enhance a production. As for Abi and Rose, check out the reviews for Emma And 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee respectively to see evidence of how their creativity built on the overall vision of the show.

The somewhat dismissive attitude towards designers reverberates throughout the ADC. Few people are able to take on the challenge of finding historically accurate Regency dresses, and so too few people are able to articulate the current problems with costume making – and that is part of the problem. Rose (whose first role in costume making was as an assistant seamstress) spoke of the importance of making the role more accessible to beginners: “I know a lot of people who love to sew but are intimidated by the responsibility of the title ‘costume designer’”. She stressed the need to make “it more accessible to be an assistant seamstress on a project”, as she believes such measures would make “a big difference to people’s confidence”. Abi discussed the possibility of running skills-based sessions: “It would be great to have an introduction to sewing machines and how to use them, how to read and follow a pattern, how to take accurate measurements and how to alter a garment. These are all good life skills that I hope would also help to make costume making less intimidating!”

“Rose describes the role as having a lot of creative freedom and control”

But what can be done to improve the experience when you get The role? Both Abi and Rose experienced a sense of “strange isolation” when working: “You only meet the actors for fittings and such, which usually makes it feel much more professional… I hope more production teams in the future make it clear that costume designers (and other crew) are welcome to come to parties and that the actors should make an effort to get to know them,” says Abi. This illustrates the pervasive problem in ADC where crew members are somewhat overlooked by the more visible roles in a production, which only creates more problems. Perhaps the feeling of anonymity is why actors don’t make it a priority to send in their measurements, or why a director might underestimate the time it will take to dress an entire cast – which only adds to the sense of isolation.

But these obstacles are not insurmountable. When I asked them about possible solutions, they both gave me bullet-pointed answers, indicating how glaring the problems were but also how simple they would be to solve. Abi’s suggestion of advertising for a design team could do wonders for managing the workload (she once described spending days sewing in a dressing room: a horrifying prospect for any student with a demanding degree to balance), while also addressing Rose’s concern about a lack of awareness of the demands of the role.

Making a dress takes time. Making dresses that fit a whole company takes even longer. Making dresses while completing a rigorous Cambridge curriculum can be exhausting – unless the current problems are addressed. Simply acknowledging this fact is an important step in changing the negative attitudes towards costume designers. So, to the actors and crew of Cambridge Theatre: next time you’re allocating a budget or wondering where your outfits come from, make sure you set aside time on a night out for your costume designer to ask. Or at least send in your measurements on time (‘Please“).