Interview with - Sil Devilly

Well, the first thing we need to do is work out exactly what needs to be made for a show; we do this in consultation with the Designer - which in the case of Eyecatcher is Lilli Rogué.

Once we know what costumes are needed we then decide what we can find in our costume stores, what needs to be bought and what we need to make. It really depends on the project whether we hire, buy or make the costumes: for Eyecatcher, there will be a combination of both hired and made costumes.

One of the first things we do is dedicate a costume rail to a production, this ensure that the items on the rail are not purloined for other productions. We then put the costumes that we make, buy and find on this rail. We also subdivide the rail per character, to make this process even clearer.

Lilli has chosen fabrics for the Graeae sisters' pinafores and has looked through the costume stores and has selected some items of clothing that she believes may work - the next step is to see if they fit. If the costumes fit and are what the Designer and Director are looking for, we will then adapt them for Eyecatcher– this can include dying or breaking the costumes down.


                      Detail Graeae's costume

We are dying all the pinafores for the Graeae. Grim and Gris will have long sleeved tops that will create the effect of dresses with their skirts. Gru will be having a shirt, instead of a dress. The Graeae’s feet are to be bound, we will probably buy plimsolls or dance slippers and then bind around these. It is very rare to have bare feet on stage because of Health and Safety concerns.

Each of the Graeae sisters will also be having a set of cream calico bloomers, which we may dye. The bloomers will help to protect the actresses’ modesty when rolling about on the stage.

As for Perseus, we will probably buy his costume; combats in particular are easier to buy, than make. We will then break his costume down.

All I have to start are the waist and height measurements of the performers. Usually we only begin to make the costumes once we have measured the performers ourselves: sometimes you can get measurements from the agents, but we find it is safer to measure them ourselves as these can sometimes be inaccurate.

We use a normal tape measure to find the performers' sizes, and fill in our own chart – this ensures that we take all of the necessary measurements. We are very discreet with these charts as people can be sensitive about their measurements. We are also discreet because the measurements that we write down are for our purposes, and people may not always agree with our way of taking measurements.

We dye materials to get the exact shade that the designer desires. In the case of Eyecatcher, the Graeae sister’s pinafores will all be dyed.

Sheffield Theatres have a dye room; in that room there is a large container in which we can mix Dylon dies until you get the right shade (Dylon dyes are just larger versions of the dyes that you can buy in the shops).

Once we have got the desired shade, we then immerse the material in the dye vat. The time we leave the material in the vat is dependent on the depth of shade we wish to acquire and the type of fabric that we are dyeing - different fabrics taken the dye at different rates.

Once the material has become the desired shade, we add salt to set the dye then rinse the material thoroughly. The next step is to dry the material in Sheffield Theatres’ dryer. We have quite a sophisticated dryer that can dry at a variety of temperatures; this means that we can use the dryer to dry virtually any material – a great advantage when you are working in a busy costume department.

When you are breaking down a costume, you are making it look as if it has been used, sometimes even worn out. We have a great variety of ingenious ways to create this effect on our costumes, these include:
• Chop off material i.e. hems etc
• Excessively washing the material
• Using a grater
• Using pumice stones
• Bleaching the material or adding dust to it to create a faded    look
• Tie-dying

The effect that you wish to create and the fabric that you are creating the effect on, affects the breaking down method that you choose to use. For instance, if you wanted to create a muddy overcoat, you might use real mud as this item is never going to be washed. However, if it is an item that will be washed, but you want to create a muddy effect, you could use brown paint to create the same effect.

Teachers Resources - Secondary (set and costume)

Teachers Resources - Primary (art ideas based on Surrealism)

Interview by Sarah Clough, Education Officer, Creative Development Programme

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