Inside the Costume Shop

Every theater production relies on a crew of unseen crafters and creatives who help bring the production to life—from sets and lighting to carpentry, electrical, and sound design. Costumes may be the ultimate marriage of theater art and craft, and the College’s costume shop provides a hands-on lab for students to learn the many details of costume design and construction.

In addition to its regular fabrication work, the costume shop maintains a large collection of hats, shoes, jewelry, garments, masks, and accessories that are primarily used for student and faculty productions during the academic year.

We dropped in on the Middlebury costume shop, where shop director Robin Foster Cole and students were working on items for the two spring productions: The Maids, by Jean Ganet and Our Town, by Thornton Wilder.