Those who have seen MAMMA MIA! might just remember this pre-show announcement:
“We would like to warn patrons of a nervous disposition that platform boots and white Lycra feature in this production.”
And that’s exactly what we’re here for.
I’ve been backstage for about three minutes and I’ve already been caught in the act by company manager Philip Effemey – guilty as charged of photographing the cast’s footwear.
However, I persuade the amiable Mr Effemey that I don’t have a shoe fixation – I lied – and a few minutes later I’m in the stalls bar talking to Ros Cole, who dresses cast members Jane Gurnett (Tanya), Joanna Monro (Rosie) and Paul Shelford (Sky).
Ros trained in ballet and has enjoyed a successful career as a singer/dancer/actress. She began her career as a dresser on Cats and now combines it with teaching.
She says it is an excellent way of staying in touch with the theatre when resting, giving performers most of their day free to pursue work or other careers. It also gives you holiday and sick pay, as well as covering N.I. contributions and giving you membership of the entertainment union BECTU.
Later, we are joined by Eloise Moody, a talented hatter whose work includes making headgear for stand up comics.
Eloise dresses actor Steven Finch (Harry) and the female ensemble members. In total, eight dressers cover the thirty-three strong cast, which includes seven swings – cast members who cover a variety of roles.
Most dressers work eight shows a week – six evening performances combined with two matinees, usually Thursday or Friday and Saturday. You can also earn more by helping out in wardrobe during the day, assisting with laundry and repairs. After 30 hours, you are paid time-and-a-half, Ros explains.
Eloise thinks they are well paid for what they do – Ros disagrees and would like to see the job attain the status it has in the States and Canada, where dressers are highly prized professionals.
In the UK, she says, the job is less well regarded – it originated in the early days of theatre, when actors would hire and pay their own dressers. There used to be a system of tipping, which Ros says is now dying out. These days, dressers are employed by production companies, but some aspects of the job remain remarkably casual.
No qualifications are needed and training is on the job. Dressers are usually found by word-of-mouth, says Ros, who previously dressed on Bombay Dreams. A good place to start would be the stage door of a theatre – you can leave a resumé and contact details for the wardrobe mistress/master.
Apart from the flexibility, it is also possible to move from dressing in theatre to working in television – Ros says a friend answered an advertisement in The Stage for a temporary dresser with BBC TV. After a three-month contract, the job became permanent and later her friend worked in television as a freelance dresser.
So what exactly does a dresser do?
The duties can vary from show to show. MAMMA MIA! is a fast moving show with costume changes that range from flippers and wetsuit to glam rock chick ensembles, club gear and of course, the wedding dress.
Eloise says that much of the work involves setting and clearing costumes rather than dressing the performers and assisting them with buttons, zippers or laces. Some performers prefer to dress themselves, says Eloise, while others prefer to be helped.
The cast seems to perform a quick change after every musical number – and there are 22 ABBA songs in the show.
In some shows, such as Bombay Dreams, Ros says quick changes can be allocated only 15 seconds, during which costume, make up and wig may require changing, involving team effort.
Some of the most difficult changes may also take place on stage in front of the audience – in MAMMA MIA! Hannah Robertson (Sophie) has the task of helping Paul Shelford into his wetsuit. She later steps into the wedding dress in full view of the audience.
Ros and Eloise say it is a dresser’s job to make sure all the costumes required are set out in the right place at the right time – and assist the actors in whatever way is necessary. Eloise says it is a dresser’s worst nightmare to accidentally set out the wrong piece of costume.
Some performers prefer to check their own costumes before the show – and are very independent when it comes to their particular costumes.
Ros says many of the dancers prefer to tie their own shoes, for example, as she did when a dancer herself.
Mishaps do happen, though – Eloise cites the occasion when the wrong pair of trousers was presented to an actor and on another occasion, a zip broke on a dancer’s boot. At moments like this, it is a dresser’s initiative that can save the day – both Eloise and Ros say they go home every night with pockets full of safety pins and needle and thread kept handy just in case.
At MAMMA MIA! the costumes are stored on a long rail that stretches across the backstage area.
After the show, actors have to be helped out of their disco diva costumes and other costumes have to be collected. Laundry and repairs have to be logged – as well as any missing items.
Earrings often go flying during the hectic dance sequences, says Eloise. Some of the dancers prefer to wear their own earrings, but whatever goes missing has to be replaced for the next show and the wardrobe team has to work together to make sure everything is ready for curtain up.
Eloise enjoys the teamwork within the company and feels it is one of the best aspects of the job – “there are always interesting people working as dressers,” she says. The MAMMA MIA! company is a particularly happy one and this helps, she adds.
One of the disadvantages is that it is easy to slip into “automatic pilot” because of the fixed routine every evening – it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of which night of the week it is because every show has a very set routine, she explains.
When an understudy is covering a performance, however, dressers have to concentrate on what they are doing as the performer covering a role may have different ways of doing things.
Eloise also says that, although the evening only consists of around three-and-a-half hours’ work, some friends may have to be neglected because of the unsociable hours.
The job also involves working in close proximity to others and is not perhaps for those who need their personal space – or have a cold. For Eloise, the worst aspect of the job is when a performer accidentally sneezes or coughs while being dressed.
Ros thinks the pay is perhaps the worst aspect – but wouldn’t swap her job for an office any day.
“Did they give away any secrets?” asks Philip Effemey, as I take my leave.
I play to the gallery and pretend they have – but, in fact, not one.
And that is another trait a dresser must possess.
Discretion.
(And perhaps a ‘flu jab, just in case.)
MAMMA MIA! is booking at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Coventry Street, London W1V 8AS. until June 2008. Performances Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm, Friday at 5pm and 8.30pm, Saturday at 3pm and 7.30pm. Book tickets on 0870 950 0902 (24 hours) or at www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk.
