Costumings Effect in Theatre Production

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What is costuming? When first hearing the word, one’s thoughts tend to lean towards costumes: colorful arrays of frivolous or wild clothing, usually worn during some sort of theatre production or special event. Why is this though? Because from the dawn of time people have used costumes to aid in the telling of their stories, myths, and legends. Costumes were used to better a person's understanding of these tales being told to them, making it easier for a person to remember the story, and thus making the story easier to be retold again and again. This is how the basis of theatre was formed, and from those stories all those thousands of years ago theatre has evolved into the source of entertainment we all know and love today. Costuming too has evolved along with theatre, and today there is not a show or film on earth that does not involve some flashy spectacle of clothing somewhere within it. Unlike theatre however, costuming has stuck to its roots throughout the ages, these roots being its general purpose, to help the audience understand the story being told. That is why, to me the use of costuming in theatre production is an invaluable piece in any type of play, musical, movie, or drama that is to be performed or shown to an audience.

A Brief History

The theatre productions we are all so familiar with actually got their start in 550 B.C., in Ancient Greece. In Athens, during the Festival of Dionysia live performances involving dancing and reenactments of popular myths were performed to pay respect to the God of Wine, Ecstasy, and Ritual Madness, Dionysus. These festivities usually lasted about a week, after which the best performers would be named and given some sort of prize. As well as the festivities went, the Festiva...

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Theater History Resources (N.D.) Retrieved from http://www.fragrancex.com/fragrance-information/theater-history-resources.html

Trumbull E. (2007) Roman Theatre and Drama Retrieved from http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/roman.htm

Eagan M. (2014) Iconography as Scenography: The Power of the Iconic Image in Stage Design Retrieved from

http://www.artsalive.ca/collections/costumes/iconography.php?lang=en&page=1

Movie M. (2008) Lessons in Costuming: Symbolism and Color Retrieved from

http://moviemavencostumedesign.blogspot.com/2008/06/lessons-in-costuming-symbolism-color-or.html

Reflecting Historical Periods in Stage Costumes (2014) Retrieved from
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/reflecting-historical-periods-in-stage-costume/

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