Units of Study / ARTS ACHIEVE THEATER UNIT: HIGH SCHOOL

Costume Creation and Interpretation

CRITICAL VIEWING AND WRITING

UNIT SUMMARY | STANDARDS | OUTCOMES | RESOURCES

LESSONS 1-4 | LESSONS 5-10 | LESSONS 11-12

Lessons 5-10

LESSONS 5-8: READING A PLAY

Now that the students understand how to view and interpret costume design, they spend 3-4 classes (depending on length of class meeting) reading a masterwork play. We used The Skin of Our Teeth by Oscar Wilde

LESSON 9-10: STUDENTS BEGIN DESIGNING

Introduction of the Design Rubric

The teacher may now either introduce a pre-made rubric or create a rubric with the class to quantify what elements are important in a quality costume design. (See attached.)

The criteria used in our rubric are:

Color Rendering: A detailed, full-color drawing of the costume
Written Notations: Notes highlighting specific choices to more clearly communicate intent.
Detail Sketches: Color or black and white sketches of important details not clearly shown in the primary drawing (the back of the garment, a specific sleeve detail, etc.)
Title Block: A professional title block label explaining the costume plate

Application of Design Skills

Students now use what they have learned about how costumes communicate character to design their own costumes based on Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth (or any selected dramatic text.) The teacher shows a master work of a costume design and discusses the ways that a design can be used to communicate with a costumer. A few aspects of the design may include:

A full, color rendering of the costume designed
Notations on the rendering explaining choices made
Detail sketches highlighting certain design elements
Inspirational images that the designer used for reference
Fabric swatches of specific materials to be used.

Students then design their own costumes for a selected character from the text. (We have found that providing templates of body shapes often eases the concerns of students who believe that they “can’t draw”.)