First-Year Players reveals how costumes steal the show—long before the first note hits the air. As stage lights rise and the audience leans in, the real magic happens behind the scenes, where research, tailoring, and clever design turn fabric and thread into living character. At First Year Players (FYP), the behind-the-scenes work is a core part of the experience, not an afterthought, and the care shows up in every stitch.
FYP is the oldest theatre group on campus, with a unique twist: only first‑year and transfer students appear onstage in their seasonal productions. This casting rule helps newcomers break into university theatre, while more experienced students contribute in technical roles like directing, stage management, and costuming—so every production benefits from a blend of fresh energy and seasoned expertise.
Lillianne McMinn, the spring costume head and a third-year student, learned to sew during the COVID-19 era and now mentors newer crew members in practical costume skills. Her guidance covers everyday tasks—sewing patches onto jackets, resizing garments—and efficiency tricks such as using Velcro for quick shirt changes and relying on zippers for faster costume swaps. These techniques keep the look polished on stage without compromising speed or practicality.
Theatre costumes aren’t about flawless perfection from the audience’s distance; they’re about convincing appearances that read correctly from the audience’s perspective. “The goal isn’t that every seam is flawless; it’s that the costume looks right from where the audience sits,” McMinn explains. “That is where theatre magic lives—hiding the hard work behind a seamless appearance.”
Layne Parker, now in his third year, led costuming for the fall production of Anastasia, a musical set in 1920s Russia about a lost princess seeking identity after a family tragedy. For a period piece like Anastasia, accuracy matters because it deepens immersion. Parker notes that the show’s visual language became one of the production’s most impressive aspects.
To capture historical authenticity, Parker and the costuming team study era-specific details. Katie Chambers, the costume head for Anastasia and a third-year student, learned that the Romanov family’s attire was chosen to project power and status rather than reflect everyday fashion. By examining both the family’s history and the Broadway production’s wardrobe, Chambers crafted costumes that felt true to the period and culture while working with the group’s practical constraints.
Two standout ensembles illustrate the approach. The iconic red dress for Anastasia featured golden embellishments and carefully chosen accessories—long white gloves, jewelry, and a tiara—added to a dress initially borrowed from a first-year student’s prom gown. The navy blue royal dress was reimagined with pearl trim and a center line of diamonds, complemented by a pearl necklace, a silver tiara, and white gloves to complete the look.
Parker emphasizes that accessories often carry the weight of a costume’s impact. “The accents and jewelry are the strongest part of the outfit,” he says. “Without the right accessories, a dress alone doesn’t convey character.”
FYP sources costumes from a mix of places—personal closets, thrift stores, online retailers, and archival pieces from the group’s storage shed—demonstrating the scrappy creativity that fuels their process. The team also uses color strategically to communicate themes. In Fall 2024’s Guys and Dolls, they dressed Adelaide in pink to reflect vulnerability and later shift her to blue to signal empowerment and self-worth, signaling a character arc without words.
For Anastasia, Parker prioritized harmonious color relationships for the lead couple, letting their evolving interactions be mirrored in their wardrobe. With Tuck Everlasting, a show about immortality and time, the plan is to lean toward muted greens and browns to evoke a sense of endurance and drift through eras.
Parker sums up the philosophy: every design choice should reinforce the production’s central idea. He compares it to building a persuasive essay—every element, including light, sound, set, and costume, should support the same thesis. In his view, costumes are often the easiest way for the audience to perceive how the theme comes alive and how it links to the characters and text.
Through a blend of resourcefulness, careful research, and meticulous attention to detail, FYP’s costume team creates striking, affordable, and functional clothing each season. The spring production, Tuck Everlasting, runs April 16–19 at the Student Activities Building. Tickets are released closer to show time and can be purchased via FYP’s website: https://www.firstyearplayers.org/tuck-everlasting. Would you like a quick behind-the-scenes checklist you can use to plan a costuming project for a small theatre group, including budget-friendly sourcing and quick-change strategies?
