This year Tabor’s theatre program is performing Mean Girls, one of the most popular musicals among high schools. The stylistic choices that go into the Mean Girls wardrobe feature a variety of aesthetics, as portrayed by the characters in the movies.
The other day, I had the opportunity to sit in on the costume crew, and interview students and faculty about the specific’s regarding costume choice. The crew noted that the first step in this process involved reading the script, and from there, they watch the movie to analyze how the characters personalities are portrayed on screen. After watching the movie, the crew makes vision boards for each character, aiming to encapsulate both their personalities and unique sense of style in physical form. A lot of this process was said to be in the physical costume closet, where the students will try certain pieces on, then come out and take judgements and comments from their peers. When certain aspects of the costumes are lacking, they go to thrift stores like savers and bring in personal items to compensate for the missing ones.
The most challenging part of this whole process was claimed to be differentiating characters aesthetically in order for them to be recognizable. The crew stated that Regina would be the hardest, due to her prominent role in the show, but involvement in the “Plastics”. Because Regina is the main character, she needs to stand out from the others, but the drawback ties to the fact that she needs to fit in with the group. Differentiating the “Plastics” as a whole was also described as difficult, as they need to be set apart while still looking cohesive.
On the other hand, Janice was noted to be one of the easier characters to costume, as her style is more artsy and bold, allowing for greater flexibility in wardrobe choices. Overall, the costume process was described as highly collaborative, with constant feedback, organization, and creativity going into each character’s look.
