Assistant Costume Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Manages wardrobe and hair personnel, including but not limited to:

• Oversees Wardrobe Supervisor and Hair & Wig Supervisors who create work assignments and manages the day-to-day schedule and workflow.

• Provides materials and equipment needed for wardrobe and hair personnel to successfully open, run, and close a show.

• Ensures wardrobe and hair personnel understand and uphold OSF mission and values.

• Ensures wardrobe and hair personnel understand and adhere to the company handbook, collective bargaining agreement, AEA guidelines and production department guidelines.

• Ensures wardrobe and hair personnel understand and adhere to safety procedures, creating additional safety protocols when necessary.

• Ensures regular inspections of hair salon and stations, adhering to HLO, Health Licensing Office regulations on safety, sanitization, and infection control.

• Recruits, hires, conducts performance reviews, manages progressive discipline with P&C, and organizes the on-boarding and off-boarding processes for wardrobe and hair personnel.

• Performs administrative tasks such as payroll, expense reports, and injury forms.

Exemplify respect and inclusion by:

• Demonstrating and creating an environment where each employee is supported.

• Maintaining a safe and anti-racist working environment.

• Recognizing micro-aggressions and interrupting othering behaviors.

• Operationalizing IDEA concepts into organized practice in systems, processes, and problem-solving techniques.

• Collaborating with other managers to enforce safety policies and keeping up to date with required management-level training.

Manages the Wardrobe and Hair support of shows. Duties include and are not limited to:

• Organizes and/or ensures organization of all wardrobe and hair functions for individual shows, including working technical rehearsals, troubleshooting, run crew documentation, and show reports.
• Manages all Hair & Wig and understudy fittings with the Director of Stage Management.
• Ensures design integrity and quality control of the costume and hair design throughout the season.
• Ensures the maintenance and organization of wardrobe and hair spaces and equipment.
• Ensures wardrobe and hair follow safety, sanitization, infection control of all workspaces; provides disinfectants and safety equipment.
• Ensures Wig Leads and Key Stylist organize hair/wig inventory, pull, purchase, alter, or manufacture all wigs, hair styles, and facial hair as designed and approved by the Costume Designer. Supervises schedule for hair care and wig maintenance.
• Collaborates with Costume Designer and Wig Leads to create show specific make-up.
• Collaborates and communicates with the Costume Shop to balance the show requirements with OSF resources to meet show and performer needs safely and efficiently- regarding wig builds, quick changes, understudy fittings and wig fittings, and hair prep or style.
• Develops and advocates for Wardrobe and Hair’s annual labor, material, and capital budgets in the season budgeting process. Manages budgets throughout the year, keeping leadership apprised of any challenges.
• Attends Production Meetings, show specific costume meetings; convenes department meetings and show specific wardrobe and hair meetings.
• Participates and actively engages in Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.

Collaborates, coordinates, and communicates with many internal stakeholders about wardrobe and hair functions. Some examples include:

• Costume Shop: regarding costume closure modifications and special care of costumes and wigs, resources, paperwork, load out schedule, cleaning and restoring costume rental items, and production transfers.
• Collaborates and resolves pre-show schedule for hair prep and dressing order, quick change choreography, and on-stage pre-sets.
• Stage Management: regarding AEA updates, run crew assignment needs, and show breakdowns; keeping apprised changes to entrances/exit locations and run times; collaborating closely with quick changes prioritizing crew and actor safety, and specific needs for any given performance, understudy fittings, etc.

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responds to after-hours emergencies and participates in emergency response teams.
• Assist in maintenance, transportation, and cleaning of show and rehearsal costumes, including dry cleaning, as needed
• Emergency understudy during the run of shows.
• Represents OSF at organizational functions and conferences when requested.
• Advises and/or leads facility maintenance and improvement projects as appropriate.
• Assist Development and Marketing departments (for example, occasional donor events or creating content re: quick changes for social media outlets).
• Other duties as assigned by Costume Director.

Supervision Received:

Costume Director

Supervision Exercised:

Wardrobe Supervisor, Hair & Wig Supervisors, wardrobe and hair staff.

Required:

Education: High: School Graduate or equivalent.

Work Experience: 5 years of experience in professional theatrical wardrobe, preferably experience supervising projects and/or people in the entertainment industry.

Preferred:

• Experience in using industrial and home sewing machines with a variety of fabrics.
• Knowledge or ability to understand regulations detailed in OHA, Oregon Health Authority Cosmetology Safety and Sanitation rules.
• Experience in wig building, wig fronting, dying lace, and with working various adhesive methods.
• Experience in wig building and hair care of Black/African American and multi-textured hair.
• Experience with special effects on-stage makeup and prosthetics supporting all skin tones and genders.

Qualifications/Skills:

• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to effectively address conflict and resolve in a professional manner in line with OSF’s values.
• Knowledge of costume periods, safe work practices, and understanding repertory calendars.
• Thorough knowledge using computer software, including Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, SharePoint, and other cloud-based information sharing systems.
• Proficient in quick-change choreography for run crew planning with both costumes and hair.
• Demonstrate initiative and tenacity in short-term and long-term planning.
• Ability to collaborate and behave in a productive manner with colleagues and staff.
• Ability to adapt and flex to operational changes and new procedures.
• Expertise in organization, time management, and decision making.
• Excellent Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Access analysis and inclusive behavior:
• Able to identify and dismantle work systems that uphold and promote systems of white supremacy; to re-envision and implement new systems that account for equity and promote inclusion in all areas of work.
• Ability to approach relationships with colleagues and staff, particularly those belonging to underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, with an understanding that identity informs every individual’s human experience in a way that may differ from their own personal experience.
• Ability to communicate about body proportions, hair textures and styling, skin tones and identities using respectful and equitable language.

Physical Ability:

• Lift and move costumes, wigs, and equipment weighing up to 30 pounds, climb stairs repeatedly, kneel, squat, and bend. Sit and stand for eight hours or more a day.

Special Hours Requirements:

• Night-time/overnight and weekend hours are regularly required. The standard work week is Tuesday – Sunday. Long hours are required, especially during technical rehearsals. The ability to respond to emergencies with little notice is required.

Preferred:

• Experience working with unions and within the context of collective bargaining agreements. Attended EDI or anti-racist trainings. Experience working in a repertory environment.