Costume Workshop: Interview with Ingrid Proos
You started your career in America and recently came to work in Perth. What was it that attracted you about working here?
In comparison to New York City and its metro area, Perth is slower paced and has calmer lifestyle. Twelve years working in NYC was tiring and not fun anymore. Also, WAAPA with its wide range of study areas and top quality facilities was very appealing to me.
Describe your role as Wardrobe Supervisor at WAAPA.
My job is to make sure that costumes get done on time for each show. Even though the students are responsible for fittings, alterations and construction of the garments I guide them through the process so they can learn from each experience.
You recently conducted a Costume workshop at Mandurah Catholic College on behalf of Black Swan. How did you approach the school workshop, and was this different from the way you teach at WAAPA?
The workshop at Mandurah was more design oriented. We worked through the script the class had just finished: Away by Michael Gow. I explained the essentials that determine the look for each costume and character and then the students worked through the script in groups. Their first task was to determine the number of costumes needed and the second was to “dress” all characters on paper.
Also, I incorporated Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream into our discussion as Away uses references to it repeatedly. I showed two different designs I had done for the show in the past and explained the meaning of the design concept.
At WAAPA my students work with one of the design student (costume designer) and they are not part of the initial design process itself. Wardrobe department simply helps the design from page to stage.
What advice would you give to someone that was interested in working in the costume industry?
Costume students must be interested in fashion and its history. They should enjoy creative process and like sewing. They should also like entertainment industry and be interested in theatre and all its aspects. As it may sound very easy and appealing one must know that backstage work is hard, fast paced and evolves around strict deadlines. Things change constantly and there is no room for disagreement and tantrums. With all that said, I could not imagine myself doing anything else.
