I’ve always sort of lingered around my college’s theatre department without ever really being involved. Sure, I went to every show performed and even took a class working on costumes, but I didn’t have the time or the courage to sign myself to truly be immersed in the show. Even though I was always interested. This year, I decided it was finally the time to give it a shot and‒*spoiler alert*‒I loved it.
My role in the show was as one of four wardrobe crew members, which meant we were in charge of everything from hair to makeup to ‘I-accidentally-ripped-my-dress-and-I-go-onstage-in-two minutes’ emergencies. In just a week between the start of tech rehearsals and opening night, I learned how to do some fancy hairstyles, make blood makeup look realistic, and apply gorgeous gold leaf makeup. Most importantly, though, I made a lot of new friends and had a super fun time.
Even though I was hidden backstage for the whole show, being a crew member was incredibly rewarding. Sending an actor onstage after doing their hair and makeup, and helping them get into their costume, feels like being a proud parent sending their child off to college. Also, dressing in all black (as is required for when you’re backstage) makes you feel like a ninja. The best part of it all, though, was bonding with the other wardrobe crew members. We would joke that between the four of us, we had more drama than what was being performed on stage, and after a couple days of working together, no conversation topic was off-limits. It was amazing to see how quickly we all became friends, and having such fun people to work with made every task go faster.
Overall, I am so glad I decided to take the leap and join wardrobe crew. You never know how fun something will be until you try it!