The World War II era hangars that sit on the corner of College and Boone across from Allan Hancock College are still rented out to local businesses that need a lot of storage space. The hangars offer just as much height as they do width, which is a good thing for the Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) costume shop, which is made up of long, tiered rows of dresses, suits, and costumes from throughout the organization’s 50 years of stage productions.
Robin Newell, PCPA’s costume shop manager and costume designer, recently walked me through the towering, labyrinthine rows of costumes from which she has been selecting pieces to include in PCPA’s upcoming Oct. 18 costume sale. A clothing rack on wheels was quickly filling up with pieces created in past decades by PCPA costume designers.
“Some of the things are very indicative of the time they were made,” Newell said. “So even if it was supposed to be a Victorian gown, it looks like a 1970s Victorian gown, so that will go to the sale. Something like that would make a fantastic zombie [costume].”
Newell oversees the creation of new PCPA wardrobes while managing the huge stock of past productions’ costumes. Each production’s costumes include an average of 20 percent new pieces, she explained, while the rest are purchased from other sources or pulled from the company’s warehouse.
Walking past a row of hanging garments, I can see several obvious standouts, such as the kilts from Brigadoon or fork and knife headpieces from Beauty and the Beast, but many of the costumes are separated by decade or time period. Suits from a time indicative of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice can be found, as well as early 20th century suits from productions like Ragtime.
The variety of pieces deposited on the selected racks for the costume sale could be used to create many characters, Newell explained. The task of creating a costume is an integral part of creating a character. From shoelaces to hat, the costume has to look the part before anyone even puts it on.
“Last year, we had a whole group of little boys come looking for Dr. Who costumes,” she said. “They were going through the racks putting things on, so by the time they left, there was a whole crowd of Dr. Whos. And they all looked different, they were all different doctors.”
The costume sale enables PCPA to clear out costumes that most likely won’t be used again, so the shop can have room for the new costumes for upcoming productions.
“This year we will have more shoes, overcoats, and ladies’ dresses than we had last year,” Newell said. “We do so many period shows that our fantasy section isn’t particularly crowded this year. We do a lot of very theatrically realistic period stuff.”
Whether bought or created by the company, everything in the sale has been on the PCPA stage. Each production usually includes more than 30 performances, which demand harsh circumstances such as quick changes, so pieces that show even minor wear are up for grabs at the sale.
“The capes is a really tight isle this year, so that is one I am definitely going to go through pretty hard,” Newell said. “And, you know, I keep Halloween in mind. There will be some good stuff in there.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne needs a good cape in his life. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 9-16, 2014.
