Elizabeth Salvesen Emerging Artist Costume Trainee

Job Title: Costume Trainee

Responsible to: Head of Costume

Location: Edington Street Production Studios, Theatre Royal and on tour

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

To contribute to the work of all areas of the Costume department while receiving on-the-job training from senior members of staff.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Costume Workroom & Offices at Edington Street Production Studios

• Sewing and finishing traditional men’s and traditional women’s garments as directed by costume cutter
• Cutting out garments and linings from patterns prepared by the costume cutter
• Attending fittings, taking notes, carrying out alterations
• Assisting costume supervisor to manage shows, source garments and cloth
• Assisting costume supervisor in preparing a costume bible
• Acting as costume supervisor for small projects under guidance of senior staff

Running Wardrobe at Production Studios, Theatre Royal and on tour

• Dressing work, costume care and storage, packing for get-in and get-out
• Laundry work, hand and machine washing, ironing and pressing

Costume Store work at Production Studios

• Looking out costumes for hire or rehearsals
• Looking out stock costumes and accessories for fittings
• Assessing costumes by historical period
• Laundry work, hand and machine washing, ironing and pressing
• Entering details of hired costumes on computer

General duties

• Assisting in any other areas of costume work
• Office tasks: filing, photocopying, sampling cloth, ordering cloth by telephone and email
• Entering costume records on computer
• Maintaining high standards of safety in the workplace
• Helping to promote Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artists programme to funders and press

Training

• Receiving instruction from senior staff in all the above areas
• Studying the process of pattern drafting
• Studying the history of costume
• Learning simple planning skills, budget management and acquisition techniques
• Learning preparation of a costume bible, costume plot and dressing notes 

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Desirable:

• Experience of costume-making work for theatre
• Experience of costume dressing
• Knowledge of historical costume
• Basic costume-cutting skills

Essential:

• HNC, HND, or degree level qualification in Theatre Costume Construction or Fashion
• Creativity
• A passionate interest in theatre costume
• A commitment to delivering high quality work
• Good hand sewing skills
• Accurate sewing technique on an industrial sewing machine and on a domestic machine
• Attention to detail and neatness in finishing garments

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Hours: 39 hours per week Normally Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5pm, but some evening work will be required, and some work on Saturdays and Sundays

Annual salary: £27,384.30

Holiday entitlement: 25 days

Probationary period: 3 months

Pension: You will be automatically enrolled into a qualifying workplace pension scheme (QWPS). You will contribute 4% of your salary, the company contributes 8%. You are not obliged to join the Pension Scheme, but can choose to opt-out if you wish.