“But a stage costume has an added significance in the theatre in that it is created to enhance the particular quality of a special occasion. It is designed for a particular character in a particular scene in a particular play – and accordingly it is an organic and necessary part of the drama in which it appears.”
Robert Edmond Jones
Your first job is to find out what the play is about. The director can be a tremendous help at this point and you must listen carefully and take notes when the director talks about the play. But you are a designer and it is very important to find the meaning for yourself too. Ask yourself what the tempo of the play is, if you set it to music what would it sound like? Ask what the mood is, what feeling should the audience leave with? Is there a catharsis? What is it? When does it happen? What is the arc of the play? You will often hear actors talk about the arc of their character and that is an idea that is very useful for costume design too. What does the playwright say about the characters in the notes? Sometimes this is very useful and sometimes not depending on the playwright.
In Arcadia by Tom Stoppard the action flips back and forth between time periods on the same set. I would say that the overall mood of that play is of nostalgia and loss. It is an elegant play and a very cerebral play, but with real heart. It unfolds like a mystery. There is a duality and conflict set up in the play; the scenes that are set in the 19th century are so much more vivid and lively than the ones set in the present. We know so much more now about science and the workings of the universe, but what have we lost? Someone says in the course of the play that the universe is cooling. Could there be a warm cool variation in the scenes between the 19th century and now? Is that the difference between romantic and classical? Before you get down to the specifics ask yourself these questions.
During the 19th century scenes the garden is being remodeled from a classical design to a romantic design. In the scenes set in the present they are trying to discover the original design of the garden and what the relationships of the people in the past were. Their goal is research and finding the truth, so hard to do! What do the other characters say about each other in the play? This is very important. In Arcadia Bernard Nightingale describes Valentine as Brideshead regurgitated. That refers to the beautiful costumes in the original Brideshead Revisited by Jane Robinson and could give you a real way to go with Valentine’s costume. At another point he says of Chloe that she was always up a library ladder (trying to seduce him). That comment makes a lot more sense and is funnier if you see her wearing a skirt at some point rather than pants.
As a designer you must do your research into the costumes of the landed gentry of the early 19th century and also what people are wearing today. As you start designing the show keep in mind these questions; what is the mood of the scene, what is the character the actor is portraying, what is the arc of the character, what is the style of the production? Then get down to the specifics of what time of day, what weather, what is the status of the character, age, sex, etc? Then start to use your imagination to visualize the costume.
Costumier 