Costume Design

Laura Gaston of Troupe 931, Cypress Creek High School, Houston TX.

In Costume Design, the skills measured are:

An understanding of costume design
An understanding of the artistic and practical constraints which impact design
An understanding of the relationship of costume design to a unifying concept
The ability to carry out research into style, period, locale, and genre of the play
The ability to present and explain design choices
Attention to detail.

The Entrant must prepare and present:

Up to an eight-minute presentation summarizing the work with connections to concept, collaboration, and design decision-making followed by up to four minutes of Q&A. The overall session, including the Q&A, may not exceed 12 minutes.
Five character renderings, either five different characters or a single character through five changes.
- More than five character renderings will not be accepted
- No finished costumes are permitted
- Renderings should be large enough for all the judges to see at one time. In a physical board, 8” to 10”. In a digital board, projections will be the most valuable.
Template or trace characters are permitted.
Swatches MUST be included and attached to the lower left-hand corner of the display board or if using a digital presentation, a separate physical board with the swatches.
The character renderings must each be mounted on either a 10″ x 15″ or 11″ x 17″ heavy stock display board or in a digital board, projections will be the most valuable.

The Entrant must prepare and present:

The board should be labelled in the following manner:
- Upper left-hand corner: play or musical title and writer(s)
- Upper right-hand corner: character’s name, act, and scene
- Lower right-hand corner: entrant’s name and troupe number (optional)
- NO other information may be included on the labels
- Labels should be considered a part of the presentation; they must be neatly typed or carefully hand- lettered.
- If using a digital presentation, you must bring your own equipment to display your work so all the judges can see the details. The use of a single laptop screen is non-recommended.
An artifact binder (physical or digital) – must include a complete set of the following materials:
- A design statement
- Complete research
- Theme of the show
- Design unifying concept
- Script requirements
- Budgetary requirements or other constraints or considerations
- Sources of inspiration for design and color palette (if used)
- Preliminary sketches
- Costume plot (showing who wears what when)
- If using a digital presentation, you must bring your own equipment to display your work so all the judges can see the details. The use of a single laptop screen is not recommended.
Entrants must wear all black
Entrants must wear all black shoes
Clothing and shoes must be all black. Any visible color, including white, will result in a disqualification
Failure to follow any of the guidelines in this document will result in a disqualification

Download the rubric below.