PLANNING CLEVER SETS, PROPS & COSTUMES

OK, you’ve made the decision to put together a performance (such as Wakakirri Story-Dance, a school concert or a play) and you have a clear idea of what the performance will be about. Now it’s time to plan your costuming, sets and props – a good plan will translate to saving money and allowing more time to work on the actual performance.

Once you make the decision to approach your sets, props and costumes in a resourceful, environmentally sustainable way, you will be amazed at just how simple it can be to come up with visually stunning, low-cost, reused and reusable items! Items that enhance the delivery of your performance, are well used and are not gratuitous.

Here is one way to develop your plan:
• Identify the characters in each scene.
• Determine sets (if any) required for each scene.
• Design a costume for each character (students can do this).
• Look at the materials required for each.
• Determine which materials (that would have been bought) can be replaced with reused materials.
• Set up an area in the school for collection of these materials.
• Send out a newsletter to your school community asking for these materials to be donated.
• Visit your nearest ‘Reverse Garbage’ depot for items not sourced through parents/students.
• Call up schools/dance schools in your area to source costumes (get in touch with a Wakakirri State/Territory Coordinator for the names of schools who have performed a story similar to yours in previous years).



WASTE AUDITS
Conducting a WASTE AUDIT is a great way to accumulate free materials to use in performances. A waste audit is basically a big clean up where all unwanted, broken or old materials, equipment and odds and ends are gathered together for reusing or recycling. Maybe that old fabric in the back of someone’s classroom could become your costumes or those flat footballs no one wanted might make great eyes for bugs or monsters! Some schools even begin their performance process with a waste audit – after all, it’s much easier to work with what you already have.

So, start collecting, converting, resizing, and reusing!

Rozelle Public School NSW came up with their 2004 Story-Dance performace after conducting a waste audit in their school. The odds and ends they came up with – everything from old chairs to fishing nets – gave them many creative ideas for story and characters and saved them from having to buy anything new!



Eifel tower of PET bottles & Plastic shopping bag skirts (Rozelle Public School NSW 2003)

Visit the WARDROBE to source these items online.

Wakakirri National Story Festival...