Fun Facts from the Wardrobe Department

Corbyjane Troya’s title is “Wardrobe Supervisor,” which barely scratches the surface of her job duties.

“I take over where the costume shop ends, setting up the dressing rooms for the individual actors with their necessities and keeping them stocked,” she said. “I provide costume maintenance throughout the run. I handle laundry, coordinate dry-cleaning and make sure that our actors have everything that they need.”

Then, there are the dresser duties. Troya helps actors dress before, after and during shows. In some instances, that involves quick-changes that take as little as 20 seconds. Should a costume need a quick repair mid-show, Troya is the triage surgeon who makes those repairs.

Our next stop behind the curtain takes us to the Wardrobe Department. Here are some fun facts:

• Most actors are trained to apply their own makeup and do their own hair. If there are special needs, such as prosthetics or extreme wigs, a makeup artist may come in to assist the actor.
• The lights around the mirrors in the dressing rooms mimic stage lights, so actors can see how their makeup will look on stage.
• Costume maintenance throughout a production’s run gets a little creative—items that can’t be laundered during the show are sprayed with vodka to keep bacteria and odor from growing.
• Actors requiring fast costume changes may “underlayer’—wear their next costume underneath their first costume. That speeds things up, allowing the actor to just take off the top costume.
• Actors put their dirty costumes in small bags at the end of the night so that when it’s laundered, it can be returned to the correct person.
• In every dressing room, actors have what is called an “Equity cot.” That’s a small bed with a blanket and pillow that allows them to rest between rehearsals and shows. The "Equity" in Equity Cot is short for Actor's Equity Association, the union that represents actors and stage managers in the United States.