Cloaked in Drama: Theatrical Apparel in the Spotlight

9 hours ago

5 min read

The cast of the IRT's 2025 production of Nina Simone: Four Women. Photo by Zach Rosing.

We send a lot of messages to others through the way we present ourselves, and one of the most acute ways to do this is through our clothing. We present professionally, culturally, casually, and for special events; we express our personalities and preferences; and we often telegraph things we don’t even think about through our clothing. This becomes an avenue for storytelling when we turn our attention to the stage. Theatre uses clothing as a powerful portrayal of who characters are before they say a word to the audience. The costume department has discussions with directors, producers, and other crew months before shows get on their feet to source and purchase costumes, shoes, and wigs that fit the vision they’ve built. Patrice Trower, Costume Shop Manager at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis, shared that some playwrights share more than others in terms of what they envision characters to look like or wear, so it is often up to the designers to fill in gaps with their own knowledge and expertise.

For centuries, people have used costuming to telegraph who their character is and build them into the world of the story. In early historical records of theatre performed in Ancient Greece and Rome, actors would wear masks so people far in the back of the amphitheater could still see the features on their faces, and togas or chitons, long draped garments, as versatile pieces. Sanskrit theatre in India utilized large headdresses, masks, and intricate draped costumes to portray royalty or gods. Ancient Chinese theatre portrayed epic battles and often involved specific, intricate, cumbersome costumes and armor pieces to mimic the warriors in their stories. As theatre evolved, it became more important to design costumes that allowed the actors to move comfortably and use their bodies to dance or move about the stage to tell their stories. In the 18th and 19th centuries, costumes became simplified and realistic to the clothes people were wearing at the time, going away from the fantastical nature of early theatre and attempting to portray real people in modern scenarios. Today, depending on the show you decide to see, you may find a little of all of these elements incorporated into shows depending on their style. The Lion King uses body paint, headdresses, large puppets, and traditional African costuming to transport audience members to the Pride Lands in the savanna. Death of a Salesman costumes its actors in everyday wear appropriate to the time period to show that these are real people struggling to get by in Brooklyn in the 1940s.

The cast of the IRT's 2025 production of The Play That Goes Wrong. Photo by Zach Rosing.
The cast of the IRT's 2025 production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Zach Rosing.
Cherish Love and Jaela Cheeks-Lomax in the IRT's 2025 production of Marie and Rosetta. Photo by Zach

Costumes give us a tone, a world, and a story about these people as soon as the curtain rises.

The cast and band of the IRT's 2026 production of Come From Away. Photo by Zach Rosing.

In the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s 2026 production of Come From Away, Patrice Trower explains that many costuming choices are based on the fact that regular people have come from all over the world to this one place in Gander, Newfoundland, in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001; their costumes will reflect different cultures, diverse body types, the weather of where they’re coming from, and where the characters are in their lives at the time of the story. Again, we see real people reflected in their clothing that has been carefully chosen, fitted, altered, and perfected to allow them to move, dance, and tell their stories. In contrast, The Play That Goes Wrong, produced by IRT in 2025, is a 1920’s murder mystery play set inside of the play itself, so we see costumes fitted to the silhouettes of the 1920’s as well as modern costumes when the stage manager or production crew get involved in the mayhem onstage. The lead female actress wears a dress that is recognizable when it is worn by the stage manager gripping lines of script as she is forced to go on stage for the lead, and these two actors often have diverse body types and need costumes that have been designed and built specifically for them, with hidden features that allow the costumes to tear away or be donned backstage in seconds. This attention to detail and bespoke costume design is more than pleasing to the audience’s eye; it is a vehicle for the story, for comedic moments, for dramatic effect.

Patrice has been costuming for various companies since 2013, when she graduated from college, and has seen a “want for innovation” in theatre costuming; people want to see more modern, accessible shows. Patrice still has a soft spot for period pieces, and now even shows set in the 70’s or 80’s are period pieces in their own way that can depict the unique styles of the time. Costume design in film has bled into the world of theatre as well has created some unfair expectations with the capabilities of Hollywood budgets. Patrice hopes to see a swing in the other direction in the future of theatre and wishes “we could go back to theatre on a budget”: localizing our talent, building a true community of actors and crew, and making a costume design that looks sharp but natural on people without expanding budgets beyond what’s possible. During Patrice’s time as the Costume Shop Manager at Indiana Repertory Theatre, other pieces that stand out in her mind as work she and her team are proud of include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Nina Simone: Four Women, Marie and Rosetta, and their yearly production of A Christmas Carol. Patrice and the amazing staff at the Indiana Repertory Theatre work closely together across all departments to create polished, meaningful pieces that are designed purposefully and executed carefully.

The next time you find yourself in a darkened theatre waiting for the curtain to rise, allow yourself to take some time to look longer at the clothes the actors are wearing when they tell their stories. Not only to appreciate the countless hours that were spent building and tailoring the costumes to fit the actors, but also to consider what it tells us about them and the world they’re inhabiting. How can the story be deepened and heightened by the pieces that were chosen? You may find yourself spending extra time in your own closet to find clothing that tells the world your story.

The cast of the IRT's 2025 production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Zach Rosing.
Jamecia Bennett, Akili Ni Mali, and Morgan E. Stevenson in the IRT's 2025 production of Nina Simone:
Cherish Love and Jaela Cheeks-Lomax in the IRT's 2025 production of Marie and Rosetta. Photo by Zach