The Costuming of Hair: An Interdisciplinary Study

This paper discussed the interdisciplinary study of costuming in general and specifically that of the musical, Hair. In addition to the discipline of theatre, costuming employs several other art forms and thereby may be considered an interdisciplinary art form. Basic to the development of costumes for Hair was knowledge of literature, visual arts and history. It is necessary to read and interpret a play very carefully in terms of relating the written words of the script to the costumes of the character. The actual designing of costumes entails basic drawing and design abilities as well as a creative artistic approach. In cases where a specific historic period is being used the research often includes art history books. By studying paintings and sculpture from a specific era one is able to establish a general flavor of the time period. Costume design is an interdisciplinary art form from the standpoint that it cannot stand alone as a separate entity and must include various art forms to be successful. It is extremely important that a designer have a firm grasp on the content and message of the play. Hair, written by Gerome Ragni and James Rado in 1969 can best be described as an anti-war play. The action of the play takes place in New York City in 1969 during the height of the hippy protests against the Vietnam War. This was a time of great individuality in dress and in mode of living. It was necessary, therefore to examine each character thoroughly in order to get a sense of his or her inner being. The director and designer agreed to emphasize the gentle aspect of hippies rather than concentrate on the rebelliousness of the era. In costuming an educational theatre production one of the items of greatest importance is the budget. During the late Sixties there was great emphasis placed on pre-owned clothing. Therefore, it seemed feasible to take most items from the vault and alter them to fit the actors and their roles. The following items had to be designed and constructed: a caftan and maternity padding for Jeanie, a satin shirt and one enormous dress which was designed to fit three actors while they performed enbloc. Musical theatre always presents the challenge of designing for the choreography. Hair was an extra challenge because of the rigors involved with the choreography. Clothing was constantly being repaired because of the strenuous leaps. It was necessary to very carefully secure wigs and hair pieces to withstand the vigorous movement involved with the choreography. Most of the costumes for Hair were coordinated rather than constructed. All of the articles of clothing and accessories that were considered costume possibilities were taken from the vault and divided into groups according to size. After carefully choosing specific items for the leads, the chorus was then costumed according to size. Chapter V discusses the costume design and technique for each of the lead characters. It has been the intent of this writer to describe the interdisciplinary techniques used in designing a production in general and specifically Hair. It is assumed that this project will be useful to the writer\u27s career development and to other designers should they choose a project