Ragtime - Shaw Festival Theatre

FUN FACTS from WARDROBE RUNNING
Once a production is on stage, all the costumes need to be maintained on a daily basis. Laundry,
small repairs, ironing, sorting, resetting costumes into dressing rooms, and assisting with quick costume
changes - these are the responsibilities of Wardrobe Running.
RAGTIME has 180 costume
changes in the first act alone; 80
of these are 3 minutes or less,
including a few that are only 30
seconds long! Many of the actors
looking calm and collected on
stage, have just frantically had
their clothing ripped off and an
entire new outfit put on in less
time than it would take someone
to turn on a cell phone and
make a call.
Ragtime uses approximately 24 full wigs and 25 different
moustaches. None of the actors have their own facial hair and
change their moustaches and side burns with their characters.
They are mostly secured with toupee tape. Every moustache has
to be cleaned and set for every show. Nothing is worse than
when a moustache goes missing backstage because it can
accidentally become stuck to anything and travel out on stage
when it’s not supposed to (sometimes sticking to a jacket, skirt or boot!). Extra care is always taken
to place facial hair in a specific spot during quick changes to avoid ‘unplanned stage appearances’.
While the audience watches the show in front of the curtain, there is a well-choreographed ‘silent
dance’ going on between the actors and stage crew behind the scenes. Major set pieces are silently
rolled around, props are removed, carried about and pre-set, costumes are laid out or returned to
the dressing rooms, and around all of this commotion actors are getting changed or moving into
position to prepare for their next entrance. One wrong move could throw the entire rhythm off.
The action backstage has to occur quietly so as not to disturb the action on stage, often during a
musical like Ragtime, the actor’s body microphones are switched on and they are singing while they
are moving about behind the curtain to provide background vocal to the music/singing that the audience
sees happening onstage. There is a lot of communication that happens using hand signals
and body language—all of which is done in very dim light!
Contributed by the Shaw Festival’s Ragtime Wardrboe Running crew
When all three shows at the Festival Theatre are up and
running, each day Wardrobe Running’s staff of 5 will press and
fold approximately 60 dress shirts, 40 pairs of socks, not to
mention hosiery, hankies and other ’unmentionables’ that will
be returned to the dressing rooms in time for the next
performance. It’s at this time that repairs are done, shoes
shined, suits and gowns touched up and a variety of other bits
and pieces spruced up from the show the night before.
After every Ragtime performance, 7 loads of laundry are done,
plus a large basket of hand washing. Long after the audience
members are in their cars and on their way home, Wardrobe
Running is at work, preparing for the next show.
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