Category Archives: On Stage

NEWLY REVAMPED FULL-TIME POSITION!

Costume Shop Manager /
Resident Designer and Builder

Position Overview:

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) is the nation’s oldest professional theatre for young audiences.  The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will assist the organization in fulfilling its mission of educating, entertaining and engaging audiences of all ages through professional theatrical productions and arts education programming.

The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will be directly responsible for managing the Costume department.  The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder is in charge of our stock and our costume shop.

The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will be assigned to be the lead designer/builder for at least 3 theatrical projects per season, and will be responsible for managing all subcontractors, including guest designers, dressers, and wardrobe staff.

Within the confines of the labor budgets for each show, The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will asses the need/ability to hire and manage additional costume construction labor.  Additional labor is hired on an “as-needed” basis.  In the future, there is great potential for this position to build a team of part-time stitchers, cutters, drapers, pattern-makers, wig masters, and make-up personnel for each production. The new Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will be integral in the future development of the TCT Costume Department and its evolving structure.

The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will manage all research, design, and development for all costume needs for TCT.  For all MainStage productions, the Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will work in collaboration with the TCT Costuming Assistant, Guest Designers, Stage Directors, Stage Managers, and the Associate Artistic Director/ Company Manager.  Additionally, the Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will work closely to manage the TCT on Tour Costume Designer/ Builder with the Artistic Director of Education and OutReach for all TCT on Tour productions.

The Costume Shop Manager will report to the Production Stage Manager and The Producing Artistic Director.

TCT’s brand new $6.5 million facility on Red Bank Road houses a state-of-the-art costume shop with multiple sewing stations, two large cutting stables, laundry facilities, ventilated spray booth, hair and make-up shop, and a three-tiered costume stock vault. (Some heavy lifting may be required.)

The Costume Department Team:

NEW!  TCT has taken great strides to reshape the atmosphere of our costume department.  TCT now has a PT Costume Assistant for MainStage, and a contracted TCT on Tour Costume Designer/ Builder for all touring productions. Additionally, TCT has increased labor and material budgets to provide a strong platform for success and for future growth in the costume department.

The Full Creative Team:

• The Producing Artistic Director (Full-Time) is in charge of the unified artistic vision for the organization.
• The Production Stage Manager (Full-Time) is in charge of all production elements for the MainStage Series.  (Note: This position is on site for 9 months of the year.)
• The Artistic Director of Education and OutReach (Full-Time) is in charge of the TCT on Tour Division.
• The Associate Stage Manager (Contracted yearly) manages or assists the Production Stage Manager for the needs of each production.
• The Technical Director/ Resident Scenic Artist (Full-Time) manages all technical elements for the company and is the scenic designer for a majority of TCT Touring and MainStage productions.
• The Associate Artistic Director / Company Manager works with all departments with timelines, budget check-ins, and can proactively assess the need for over-hire.
• The Creative Director/ Marketing Director (Full-Time) manages promotional appearances by costumed characters in addition to managing the marketing and PR for all divisions.
• The Lighting Designer (Contracted per show)
• The Sound Designer (Contracted per show)
• The Stage Director (Contracted or Assigned per show)
• The Guest Costume Designer/Builder (Contracted or Assigned per show)
• The TCT on Tour Costume Designer/Builder (Contracted yearly)
• The Costume Assistant (Part-Time) assists the build of each MainStage production for approximately 25 hours per week.

Responsibilities/Duties:

The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder’s duties include:

• Work with director to understand his/her vision and needs, as well as to work out any potential problems related to time period or other limitations
• ork with producer to communicate budgetary needs and work within the assigned budget by tracking costume material, supply, and labor budgets *
• etermine the best design of costumes considering script, time period of show, and body types of actors by creating renderings/designs and building or otherwise obtaining costumes for 3-4 MainStage productions each season**
• Attending scheduled production and design meetings
• Work with stage manager and costume crew to explain and develop mechanics of costume changes when applicable
• Attending necessary staging rehearsals and costumed run thru rehearsals at Red Bank Road Facility, and tech and dress rehearsals at The Taft Theatre
• Work with producer and director to establish schedule of expectations; ensure costumes are ready according to schedule
• Shopping for necessary costume materials
• Measuring and fitting all cast members
• Altering costumes
• Hiring dependable stitchers, make-up artists, wig masters, and additional over-hire
• Outsourcing specialty costume commissions
• Manage rentable costume pieces. ***
• Maintaining the organization of the costume shop and vault
• Costuming and fitting promotional appearances and photo shoots
• Scheduling all shop equipment repairs
• Load-in and load-out of all costumes and racks at the Taft Theatre
• Scheduling costume transport with a company van, a donated vehicle, or a rented truck. ****
• Cleaning, re-stocking, repairing, and tagging costumes, costume props, and accessories.
• Fulfilling general costume requirements for TCT Workshops. (Needs vary upon the WorkShop season)

* MainStage budgets range depending on the size of the production.  Material budgets can range from $4K – $7K.  Over-hire labor budgets can range from $3k – $5K.

** MainStage cast sizes range widely between 12- 30, oftentimes with multiple roles for each performer, depending on the needs of the specific production. Our MainStage productions are often fantasy/fairytale driven with an emphasis in grand Broadway-style spectacle.  

*** We have a light volume of rental requests.  We normally do not rent our costumes, but there are rare instances when we do.  The Costume Shop Manager / Resident Designer and Builder will be responsible for taking these requests.

**** Having a dependable vehicle is important.  TCT reimburses $.40 per mile between a TCT location and a third party location (not an employee’s home).  TCT Locations include:  Our headquarters on Red Bank Road, The Scene Shop in St. Bernard, and The Taft Theatre, Downtown.  Third party locations include: Retail locations, Rental pick-up locations, or Donation pick-up locations.  This does not include travel between TCT locations.

Minimum and Ideal Qualifications:
Education Level – Bachelor of Fine Arts or equivalent work experience.

Benefits:

• Health, vision and dental benefits available, partially subsidized by employer contributions, after a waiting period.
• 403(b) retirement plan participation available, after a waiting period, with eligibility for an employer match after one year of credited service.
• Generous PTO based on years of service.
• Generous paid holiday schedule.

Compensation and Application:

• A generous salary of $35,000 – $40,000.
• To apply, send your resume, letters of reference, online-portfolio, and cover letter to: roderick.justice@tctcincinnati.com with the subject line: COSTUME DESIGNER
• Deadline to apply:  July 25th, 2016

Organizational Overview:

TCT’s mission is to educate, entertain and engage audiences of all ages through professional theatrical productions and arts education programming.  We fulfill our mission through three primary programs:

• TCT MainStage– We welcome 97,000 children, teachers, and family members from across the Tri-State, to one of our four family-friendly and professional musical theater productions at the historic Taft Theatre.
• TCT On Tour – We see over 60,000 children and their families at one of our touring performances or during an arts-integration workshop or residency.
• TCT Academy – Over 600 children will be provided fine arts instruction, including the group that participates in summer intensive STAR summer programs where we offer professional musical theatre training to some of the region’s most talented youth.

Vision:

• Create smiles, open minds, and touch hearts.
• Harness theater experiences and the arts as forces for education and understanding.
• Create meaningful shared arts experiences.
• Present award winning and nationally recognized productions and arts education programming.
• Foster a work environment of excellence, creativity, and innovation.

Core Beliefs:

• We believe in the power of theater to enrich lives and create deeper understandings of people, cultures, and perspectives.
• We believe that our audiences deserve high quality experiences that are rich with wonder, honesty, compassion, joy, and wisdom.
• We believe that the arts and education are not mutually exclusive.
• We believe that the art we create must respect the diversity of our community.
• We believe in the power of integrated arts education to enrich our lives and our communities.