The Chicken Family from "The Tale of Chicken Licken" Having a budget commensurate for all of the great ideas you have as a director of a Children's Musical would be great, but is usually not reality.
Some Children's Theater companies will only mount shows for which they have collected costumes, sets and props for years. They just rotate around the same shows utilizing resources they already have. That's about the only way they can manage to make a small profit from their programs year to year.
School and workshop productions usually require the children to wear the Workshop T-shirt and shorts, or to provide their own "costumes." Even with coaching as to what to provide, the costumes will not look very coordinated. Some shows are much easier to costume than others, and director's take that into consideration when choosing the vehicle. If they have to make a choice between spending money on costumes or providing the many other things needed for the show, they will often opt for getting the other things.
Some Children's Theater companies will only mount shows for which they have collected costumes, sets and props for years. They just rotate around the same shows utilizing resources they already have. That's about the only way they can manage to make a small profit from their programs year to year.
School and workshop productions usually require the children to wear the Workshop T-shirt and shorts, or to provide their own "costumes." Even with coaching as to what to provide, the costumes will not look very coordinated. Some shows are much easier to costume than others, and director's take that into consideration when choosing the vehicle. If they have to make a choice between spending money on costumes or providing the many other things needed for the show, they will often opt for getting the other things.
As a writer, I have a certain vision for what I think my show should look like --- including costumes for the characters. Where I would love to employ some clever costumer to create costumes to suit my vision, I usually end up making them myself. I try to reuse costume pieces from other shows as much as possible to make ends meet. I frequent thrift shops to find anything that could be possibly be reworked into something different at bargain rates. I save a little here so that I can spend more there.
  | For example, I was able one year to buy many dark blue/green and pink peasant skirts from some thrift stores. They have been used in many shows for different purposes. In "Parizade's Quest" they were the Persian dancing girls' skirts. In "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," they were the kitchen maids' skirts. Different tops and an added scarf, apron or hat changed their look. |
| I have collected black knit pants and solid colored tops for years --- in many different sizes. Black pants and T-shirts with added colorful tutu or shorts was the basic costume for "The Ants and the Grasshopper." Black pants with a solid colored top became the children's basic costumes in "A Successor to the Throne." |   |
About 15 years ago, Chinese kimonos were popular as bathrobes. I have managed to amass quite a variety of kimonos from thrift stores in all different sizes. I have 3 shows where I have used them. "Momotaro," "A Successor to the Throne," and "The Empty Pot,"
Don't underestimate the value of bedsheets and oversized T-shirts! We made chitons, togas, and robes out of these for "Never Cry Wolf" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."
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Costumes are invaluable to helping the children get into character. Even if they are simply done, costumes make a HUGE difference!
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