“I’ll pull your pants up-you get your shirt on-I’ll button the shirt and you the pants” Awkward, right? Let me explain….

Once upon a time Stephen Sondheim wrote “Company”. Also once upon a time the Black Box Theatre at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) performed “Company”. (Spring Semester 2016)

I was  Cherylene’s assistant (she’s the main costume designer for SLCC). So I was there every night of the run helping people get into costumes, or out of them. Mostly I was handling the lead: Bobby. (cue song: “You could drive a person crazy”; which was definitely true.)

Being on hand to do small repairs was pretty fun. Needing a button or hole stitched back up before the next scene…. not so much.

Dressing. This was my first play where I worked as a dresser. I lucked out, I only had one character to really work with. And boy did I work.

A lot of problem solving happens when you’ve got to make cues. When you’re dressing someone you learn to collaborate on top of that. Yes, I was literally dressing a 20 year old man. And yes, it got awkward. For example “I’ll pull your pants up-you get your shirt on-I’ll button the shirt and you the pants” all within 15-30 seconds.

Professionalism is key. Especially in situations like these.

As the dresser on site-I was responsible for cleaning the clothes. “Company” is a musical. Which means most of the cast are dancing 3-4 nights in a row. In the same costumes, because they had no costume changes, *stares off into the distance*

A lot of febreeze was used in conjunction with spot cleaning before the weekly wash.

Overall, I was thrilled to experience the collaboration and seamless teamwork in a musical again. It’s exhausting-but so worth the effort of a show well-done.