Performance Production Costume Shop Manager

Friends Of The Texas A&m University Libraries - College Station, TX

Full-time - Mid Level

College Station, TX

10,001+ employees

About the position

Texas A&M University's School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts (PVFA) is seeking a Performance Production Costume Shop Manager to oversee the daily operations of the Costume Shop. This role involves planning, organizing, directing, and managing all activities related to costume production and pre-production. The ideal candidate will have a passion for the arts, creativity, and strong organizational skills, along with expertise in production logistics, costume design, collaboration, budget reporting, scheduling, and resource management. The Costume Shop Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing procedures for the administration of the Costume Shop, ensuring that all aspects of costume production run smoothly and efficiently. In this position, the manager will plan and coordinate the logistics of production, including the maintenance of equipment and supplies. They will be tasked with budgeting and purchasing all costume materials for productions, providing and managing budget reports to the Production Manager, and overseeing the cutting of all fabric for built costume elements. The manager will also schedule and participate in all fittings, fabricating patterns through draping or flat pattern making, and collaborating with design faculty to review and revise production designs. Additionally, they will supervise all costume, pattern, and design revisions and alterations, ensuring that the costume vision translates effectively to the stage. The Costume Shop Manager will also play a crucial role in hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating student technicians, assigning projects to improve their skills in various aspects of costume construction. They will enforce safety practices in the shop and instruct student staff in the technical aspects of costume construction and the proper use of machinery. Furthermore, the manager will design costumes for productions, serve as a design consultant for faculty, create renderings or sketches, and lead meetings with choreographers and directors to ensure cohesive design execution. They will oversee the maintenance of shop equipment, manage costume resources, and attend staff and production meetings to ensure all operations align with the university's standards and expectations.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, direct, and manage day-to-day activities of the Costume Shop.
• Budget and purchase all costume materials for productions.
• Provide and manage budget reports and progress reports to the Production Manager.
• Oversee the cutting of all fabric for built costume elements.
• Schedule and participate in all fittings.
• Responsible for the fabrication of all patterns by draping or flat pattern making.
• Collaborate with design faculty to review and revise production designs.
• Supervise all costume, pattern, and design revisions and alterations.
• Collaborate with scene and light designers to ensure costume vision translates to stage.
• Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate student technicians' skill levels.
• Schedule student workers' costume shop hours and instruct them in technical aspects of costume construction.
• Enforce shop and theatre safety practices.
• Design costumes for productions at the School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts.
• Serve as a design consultant for faculty on the costume design process.
• Create renderings or sketches of designs for faculty directors and choreographers.
• Lead meetings in consultation with choreographers and directors to create a cohesive design for the production.
• Plan construction process for each garment and perform historical research pertinent to the costume designs.
• Oversee the costume design timeline.
• Manage costume resources including inventory, stock, supplies, storage, maintenance, and repair.
• Attend TAMU and PVFA staff meetings, production meetings, and all tech/dress rehearsals.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Theatre, Fashion Design, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Five years of related experience in theatre design/costuming.
• Work experience in stage/film productions, especially within the costume and wardrobe department.
• Excellent sewing and design skills.
• Knowledge of costume design work, draping, cutting, millinery, dying, and shop mechanics and machinery.

Nice-to-haves

• MFA in Theatre or Fashion Design.

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M contributing to employee health and basic life premiums.
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays.
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month.
• Automatically enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Free exercise programs and release time for health and wellness.
• Access to free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support for attending conferences and workshops.
• Employee Tuition Assistance and Educational Release time for completing a degree while a Texas A&M employee.