Dressing Room Manners

Posted in Show Resources

Expectations and Etiquette for the Dressing Room

Do...

  • arrive at the theatre having bathed & shampooed, wearing a good non-scented deodorant
  • rehang your costume pieces as soon as you take them off
  • keep all food and all drink except plain water out of the dressing rooms
  • apply makeup and hair color BEFORE putting on costume (many makeup colors and even "washable" colored hair sprays will permanently stain)
  • blend makeup ONLY to edge of costume & hair, not beyond
  • do all eating and drinking BEFORE putting on costume or handling props

Do Not...

  • wear perfume, cologne or after-shave other cast members may be sensitive or allergic, and scent is very difficult to get out of clothing
  • eat or drink while in costume except plain water
  • cut, glue, staple, paint or tape any part of any garment
  • write on the costume or any label in it
  • return costumes to the owner with makeup, hair spray, blood or food stains on them that cannot be washed out

If you have been given a wig made of synthetic fiber...

  • DO NOT use hot rollers ot an electric curling iron or blow dryer - the fiber will frizz
  • DO NOT comb or brush when wet - the curl will be released
  • DO NOT apply latex to any part of this wig - it cannot be removed
  • DO NOT try to alter the style, length or color

DO... BREAK A LEG!

PS: If you don't know where that tried & true best wish for a good show came from, it goes back to the good old days of the "three - a - day", when performers would audition for the opportunity to perform in a vaudeville show. Auditions were held backstage, behind the invisible wall created by the legs, or narrow curtains hung at intervals from downstage to upstage both right & left, that would mask the wing space from the view of the audience.. If a performer passed the audition & was allowed to perform on stage, he got beyond, or "broke" through the "legs", and would be paid for his performance. It's the best wish one can offer a performer - even today.

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