Costume shop attracts eclectic workers for creativity

After spending time at the University of Richmond's costume shop in the basement of the Modlin Center, Kate Jagger made her own dress for Ring Dance.

"I had never sewed anything in my life before," said Jagger, a student visiting Richmond from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Jagger, a junior history major, is heavily involved with theater at her home in Cornwall, England. When she arrived at Richmond, she was given a tour of the Modlin Center.

"I went into the shop and asked if I could volunteer to learn to sew," Jagger said. "A few days later, I was shop staff."

This scenario happens frequently, said Heather Hogg, the assistant director of costume and makeup.

"I try to get people to be interested and let them know they don't have to have a lot of skill to be a part of what we do," she said.

Richmond's costume shop is not a professional shop, Hogg said. When the budget allows, she will hire one or two professionals to help with the workload, but that is rare.

Hogg receives most of her help from the student staff, who are paid to work in the shop, as well as students taking theatre courses with required laboratory hours. Classes, such as Theater Appreciation and Costume Design, require students to work in the costume shop for a certain number of hours during production periods.

Not all of the students who work in the costume shop are theatre majors. In fact, the majority of them aren't, Hogg said. Students majoring in art, physics and history, as well as athletes, all get involved because they are interested in doing something creative and hands-on, she said.

"Those are the kind of people I want," Hogg said. "I don't really care if you don't know how to make a corset from scratch. That's my job."

There are also students who, for no credit and very little accolades, have taken charge of running the crew for the hair and makeup for the most recent production, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

They are not theater majors, Hogg said, but they do it because it's a lot of fun.

Jagger spends around six hours a week in the shop, but during production period she will be working up to 20 hours a week, she said. In addition to actually sewing costumes, the student staff has to maintain the stock in the storage, which is kept in a converted swimming pool in the Modlin Center. They also do things like spray-painting and dyeing shoes, making pirate hats and more. It's so much more than just sewing, Jagger said.

Hogg said she wanted both students and community members to understand what goes on behind the scenes of a production.

"I want the learning to go beyond UR students," she said.

Hogg said she hoped to launch a volunteer opportunity in the fall called "Come Play With Us," which will allow community members and anyone who is interested to work alongside the students in the costume shop.

"I think it's fantastic that someone who has a sewing skill that they haven't used for years could help us," she said.

Even those who don't have any skills are welcome, she said. She is willing to teach.

"I want to dispel the myth that I'm going to whip you if you do something wrong," Hogg said. "I expect people to do things incorrectly. If it's wrong, we correct it. That's what we do and how we learn."

After two semesters of working with Hogg and the rest of the members of costume shop, Jagger said her desire to work in theater had grown. This summer, Jagger has an internship at the Washington National Opera where she will continue to use the skills she learned at Richmond's costume shop.

"I really want to keep expanding my costuming and eventually my design skills," Jagger said. "I would recommend other students, both males and females, to work in the shop. It's such a lot of fun, and for a history major, it's a great creative escape."

Contact reporter Brittany Combs at brittany.combs@richmond.edu