BWW Blog: Taylor Kyes - The Little Things - A Show From a Tech's Perspective

Waiting for Godot was probably one of the biggest challenges that I have encountered in my high school theater career, and I was one of the costume designers. My challenge was creating outfits that conveyed the characters in all of their glory, through every turn of the story and around every bend in their personality. There was only one costume per character, for the full two-hour show.

We had an amazing cast to design for, they were al he most talented boys at our school, and our student director was amazing. So how could we live up to their level of expertise and talent? Could we possibly produce costumes that did the characters and the acting justice? I think we did. It took hours of work and some of the weirdest methods of dyeing, sewing, cutting and painting I have ever seen. We worked hard on the costumes and I am so proud of how they came out.

I guess what I am trying to convey is that my job behind the scenes is not easy. We put our selves into the costumes we design, and we dedicate much of our lives to making the actors looks their absolute best. The costumes themselves are carefully thought out and analyzed. Every minor detail can convey something to an audience; that is the beauty of what I love to do. I spent 3 hours working on a pair of boots and I am proud of that, the boots looked amazing on stage, even if you only saw them on feet and a bench.

Don't underestimate the power the tech crew has over an audience: we create the atmosphere that allows the magic to take place. We help create the characters as much as the actors do. We love the show just as much as the people in the show love it, and just as much as the people who see it love it. So next time you see a show, I challenge you to notice the little things on stage and appreciate the work the tech crew did to create the intricate stage, set, and costumes of the much loved characters.