Costumes Lesson Plans
A library of lesson plans to help you effectively plan your workshops and classes.
Considerations for Costume Design/Director's Concept
by Anna Porter
Students will explore the considerations for costume design and what can be communicated through clothing. Students will create a “rocker” costume for a character as a means of introducing students to director’s concept and how it can shape a design.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Considerations for Costume Design/Director's Concept
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Costume Challenge - Rehearsal Blacks Elevated
by Kerry Hishon
In this lesson, students will elevate rehearsal blacks and use them as a tool to enhance a play or story. Students will consider how thoughtful and creative choices with rehearsal blacks can denote character, status, mood, atmosphere, and more. Students can complete this exercise by sketching, using online images to create a mood board, or if you choose to do presentations, using black clothing items they own to create character looks.
Costume Challenge - Rehearsal Blacks Elevated
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Costume Team Meeting/Work Time
by Anna Porter
Students will explore effective collaboration, complete their costume designs, and participate in a costume team meeting in preparation for their final portfolio.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Costume Team Meeting/Work Time
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Costume Team Pitch Preparation - Review
by Anna Porter
Students will create and refine their costume team pitch and portfolio by preparing a presentation and receiving peer feedback.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Costume Team Pitch Preparation - Review
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Costuming Vision
by Holly Beardsley
One issue that costumers run into is that because they’re pulling together from existing pieces, the costumes’ overall look can lack unity. The best way to achieve unification is by creating and executing costumes through a costuming vision. In this lesson, students will answer questions in order to develop a costuming vision for a show.
- Slide Deck Lesson 3
Costuming Vision
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Costuming Your Show for Under $50
by Kerry Hishon
The objective of this lesson is for students to take on a theatre production role and explore a real-world challenge. Students are tasked to come up with an interesting, unique costume design concept for a show, while at the same time being challenged to stay within a budget of only $50.
- Masque of the Red Death (scene from Shuddersome)
Costuming Your Show for Under $50
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Costuming: Fashion Trends Onstage
by Holly Beardsley
Costumes are a visual medium and so is theatre. A theatrical vision is incomplete without costuming. In this Lesson Plan, students will answer questions in order to develop a costuming vision for a show.
Costuming: Fashion Trends Onstage
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Costuming: The Colour Wheel
by Holly Beardsley
Costuming with colour is a great way to visualize theme and mood. How do different colours make you feel? What colours are associated with different moods? Can colour be used to identify a group? Students will first assess character types and use the colour wheel to create a costume look. Their assignment for the lesson is to assign colours to different groups in a play based on relationship, mood, and era.
Costuming: The Colour Wheel
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Culminating Assignment
by Holly Beardsley
Students will apply what they have learned to two possible culminating assignments.
- Slide Deck Lesson 6
Culminating Assignment
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Director's Concept Review
by Anna Porter
Students will review director’s concept and be introduced to the steps of design. Students will create a director’s concept for the costume design and costume team portfolio project and select an artifact to help support their idea.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Director's Concept Review
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Director's Concept/Character Analysis
by Anna Porter
Students will present and refine their director’s concept by presenting it to another costume team in class in the form of an “elevator pitch.” Students will explore characterization and what they need to consider when designing a costume for a production.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Director's Concept/Character Analysis
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Google Site: Elements of Costume Design and Team Portfolio
by Anna Porter
Students will work collaboratively to create a Google Site final portfolio to showcase the work they have done as a costume team. Students will also begin to prepare their costume team pitch presentation.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Google Site: Elements of Costume Design and Team Portfolio
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How Costumes Affect Your Character - Practical Exploration
by Kerry Hishon
Students will read an article about how costume items affect their character and their physical movements onstage. Then will then apply their knowledge by preparing a brief monologue (20-30 seconds in length) and practicing it three times, each time using a different costume item. Students will then perform their monologue using one of the items they worked with. Students will become aware of the challenges that costumes can cause while performing onstage. Afterwards, students will complete a Reflection.
How Costumes Affect Your Character - Practical Exploration
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How to Draw a Figure/Work Time
by Anna Porter
Students will be given resources to help them draw their costume designs in proportionally appropriate ways. Students will also understand how to utilize the work they have done up to this point with the physical creation of their costume designs.
How to Draw a Figure/Work Time
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Introduction
by Anna Porter
Students will be introduced to and demonstrate their understanding of the elements of design by collaboratively completing a class HyperDoc and going on an Emotion Scavenger Hunt to create a digital collage.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Presentation: Elements of Design Introduction
- Resources
Introduction
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Period Clothing
by Holly Beardsley
Sometimes a costumer not only has to put together clothes for a modern production, but they have to create a period look. This lesson identifies the items of clothing most associated with specific eras and how to emulate those eras using modern clothing. This lesson also enforces that costuming is an illusion. You work with what you have to create the atmosphere of an era. What can you do to create the illusion of the original?
- Slide Deck Lesson 4
Period Clothing
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Personal Style
by Holly Beardsley
In this lesson, students will reflect on their personal style, learn clothing vocabulary, and identify how to apply personal style to creating costumes for a show. They will also learn the difference between a costume designer and a costumer.
- Slide Deck Lesson 1
- Clothing Vocabulary
Personal Style
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Pitch Presentations
by Anna Porter
Students will demonstrate their understanding of design and collaborating on a costume team by presenting their costume design and costume team pitch presentations. Students will participating in survey activities to reflect on the design and collaborative process.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Pitch Presentations
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Research/Digital Citizenship
by Anna Porter
Students will review the role and process of research in design as well as how to do that in a digitally responsible way by looking at the difference between research for inspiration and perspiration.
- Hyperdoc Link
- Resources
Research/Digital Citizenship
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The Colour Wheel
by Holly Beardsley
Costuming with colour is another technique to unify a look for a show. It’s a great way to visualize theme and mood. How do different colours make you feel? What colours are associated with different moods? Can colour be used to identify a group? Students will first assess character types and use the colour wheel to create a costume look. Their task for the lesson is to assign colours to different groups in a play, based on relationship, mood, and era.
- Slide Deck Lesson 5
The Colour Wheel
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