Costume Studies @ FSPA

The Dalhousie University Costume Studies program at the Fountain School of Performing Arts is unique in North America, offering a four-year BA with Honours in Theatre (Costume Studies). The program has a strong historical focus on both theatre and museum work, and builds a combination of applied, research and academic skills. 

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FSPA is at Hal*Con!

Curious about the Fountain School of Performing Arts? Want to chat to Actual Real Life Students (tm) and Honestly Not Aliens Faculty? Hit us up at booths L1 and M1 on the first floor, yesterday, today and tomorrow!

(The first option may require the use of a time machine. All Gallifreyans and guests welcome.)

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‘It’s fantastic’: N.S. government kicks in $10 million for Dal Performing Arts Centre renovations

The Nova Scotia government has committed to a $10-million investment in Dalhousie’s Perfoming Arts Campaign – over 25 per cent of its funding goal.

We’re in the news!

The provincial government of Nova Scotia announced yesterday that they would be contributing ten million dollars towards the new performing arts center for the Fountain School at Dalhousie University. We’re so pleased to see the overwhelming support for the arts in this province, and very proud of the students who performed at yesterday’s big announcement!

What does this mean? A big new concert hall with world-class acoustics, rebuilt practice rooms, a massive new wing for Costume Studies (with even more natural light!) and a lot more. 

Another article, and a photo of Andrew Son at the piano! (His Chopin was amazing yesterday.)

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/nova-scotia-puts-10-million-into-dalhousie-arts-centre-overhaul-242902/

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You've got Passion. You've got Curiosity. You've Got Drive.

Invent your future with the Fountain School of Performing Arts at Dalhousie!

(Seriously. We do really cool stuff.)

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Celebrating Dal’s first female students in dress

Dalhousie took its first step toward gender equality in academia when it admitted its first female students in 1881, something Costume Studies students celebrated this year by recreating women’s choice of dress during those early years of change.

Every year our fourth year Costume Studies students host a gala to display their projects from Aesthetics of Historical Costume, a year-long, skin-out build based on extant artifacts and fashion plates.

This year they researched and built garments from the early 1880s, in a tribute to Dalhousie’s first female graduating class (1885). Many of the students were escorted by gentlemen wearing the suits that the students themselves made in their third year Tailoring course. Some photos in the article, more to come!

Congratulations to the Fountain School of Performing Arts’ graduating class of 2018!

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It’s hiring season... here’s another wardrobe opening in Atlantic Canada for french-speaking students or recent grads.

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Théâtre l’Escaouette in Moncton, NB, seeks French-speaking costume and set designers for their productions. The company was founded in 1974 and focuses on the development, staging, and touring of new works by Acadian and New Brunswick playwrights. On occasion, they have also staged French translations of contemporary European plays. Most of our work is for general audiences with productions for young adults every few years.

Any students or recent grads from Costume Studies or Technical Theatre specializing in design that are fluent in French are encouraged to send their CVs to Elise Desveaux Graves: elisedg [at] nb.aibn.com

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Cirque du Soleil is looking for a wardrobe technician who is available to tour!

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Behind the seams

Building a modern Frankenstein production, wardrobe style.

DalNews is running a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at Costume Studies’ involvement with the Fountain School’s end of year production, Drums and Organs. The modern-day take on Frankenstein, written by Fountain School alum Gillian Clark, includes a play-within-a-play and flashbacks to 1818, requiring our third and fourth year students to build for three different timelines and styles.

Here’s a rundown of the production, including some glamour shots of the costumes in-situ.

Drums and Organs runs until March 31 at Sir James Dunn Theatre. Tickets are available from the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office.

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One of the treasures from our collection! This mid-1880s cotton and velvet gown is unprovenanced, unfortunately -- all we know is that it was donated to Costume Studies in 1993. The skirt has a built-in bustle that can be tied to shape, creating a shelf-life back quite a bit more dramatic than the untied silhouette (above). The back waist of the skirt was altered to be let out a few inches at some point in its history, but otherwise the dress is in spectacular condition for its age.

The bodice has a velvet plastron with some neat construction details. The double-overlapped placket kept the closure secure over the corset and underthings, fastened with both a row of buttons and then a placket brought across and secured by hooks and eyes to keep the buttons hidden. Some of the mother of pearl buttons are missing, but the bodice otherwise shows very little sign of wear.

(Currently on display as a construction example for THEA 4406, Aesthetics of Historical Costume.)

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We’ve got swag!

Hoodies, anyway. The Dal Costume Society is now taking orders for Costume Studies hoodies. You don’t have to be a current student to get one -- alumni and supporters are welcome as well! Hoodies are $38.50 (Canadian) each, and part of the proceeds go to fund the Costume Society’s workshops and guest speakers.

Available in men’s sizes XS - XL. Order by emailing [costumes at dal.ca] by Thursday March 30th, 2018 -- the hoodies will be available by the third week of April. (If you aren’t local to Halifax, we’ll have to arrange pickup or delivery separately.)

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Dalhousie 1881-1885: Celebrating Dal's First Female Students, a presentation of historical dress | Celebrate with Us

Join us for a presentation of historical dress by 4th year costume studies students.

April 14, 2018 7:00 pm

Join us in the Great Hall at the University Club for a presentation of historical dress by 4th year costume studies students.

$15 admission / $10 students

Tickets are available now online, or at the FSPA office: 5th floor, Dalhousie Arts Centre.

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Dalhousie’s Fountain School of Performing Arts presents:

DRUMS AND ORGANS

A New Theatrical Creature inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Play by Gillian Clark

Original Score by Jackson Fairfax-Perry

Directed by Roberta Barker

March 27 to 31 at 7:30 pm and March 31 at 2:00 pm

Sir James Dunn Theatre

Dalhousie Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue

Tickets available at the Dalhousie Arts Centre Box Office: 

Tel: [phone].874.1669 or purchase online at http://dal.ca/artscentre.

(Note: No show on Good Friday, March 30.)

To what extremes will we go to combat our own mortality? As we look obsessively toward the future, do we lose sight of the good things that surround us in the present? How can we learn to live in our own skins? These questions haunted the youthful novelist Mary Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein in 1818.

In this new play by exciting young playwright and Dalhousie alumna Gillian Clark (BA Hon ’13), they also haunt another Mary: a medical student in modern Halifax. With her gift for cardiac surgery and her annoying roommates, Mary seems as far from Shelley’s brooding hero as could be, until a chance encounter forces her to grapple with the power—and the limitations—of the physician’s art.

Commissioned to celebrate Dalhousie’s 200th anniversary and featuring a live musical score by Dalhousie alumnus Jackson Fairfax-Perry (BMus ’14), Clark’s fresh, funny, and haunting play asks what ties 2018 to 1818, life to death…and human beings to one another.

Director Roberta Barker is Associate Professor of Theatre in the Fountain School of Performing Arts.

WARNING: This production contains mature language, mature themes, sexual content, reference to sexual assault, and reference to violence, and may not be suitable for children.

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toujourskindregards replied to your post: I know this Tumblr page is specific to Dalhousie's...

Thanks for getting back to me, and so quickly! I’ll be sure to check in with an advisor and the Dal Theatre Society regarding my questions. Thanks, again!

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I know this Tumblr page is specific to Dalhousie's Costume Studies program, but I was wondering if I'd be able to enquire in regards to the Fountain School of Performing Arts' BA in Theatre with Honours (Acting) option? I am especially curious as to how the program compares to the University of Alberta's BFA Acting program. (I apologize if this is inappropriate. Please disregard if so.)

It’s not inappropriate - I’m just not sure if we can answer your specific questions as thoroughly as you need. If you’re looking for official information I can direct you to various curriculum and audition pages or put you in contact with one of our advisors. Otherwise I’ll try to answer any questions that I can!

If you’re looking for candid answers for ‘day in the life’ questions from a student’s perspective, you might do better with the gang at the Dal Theatre Society -- https://www.facebook.com/daltheatresociety/  (or stage [at] dal.ca to hit them up via email.)

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Pacific Theatre Apprenticeships

Pacific Theatre in Vancouver offers a full-time professional apprenticeship program for emerging artists and administrators who seek to improve their crafts as theatre artists.

The Company Apprenticeship is composed of three primary categories: Artistic, Administrative, and Production. Apprenticeships span eleven months from August to June. A modest living stipend of $1,000 per month is available.

Qualifications: post-secondary theatre training, customer service experience, strong computer skills and familiarity with Macs.

To apply: Submissions should be made to Andrea Loewen at [email protected] Include a headshot, all relevant resumes (acting, production, general work experience), a letter of intent detailing reason for applying, why you want to work with Pacific Theatre, and what you hope to get out of an apprenticeship.

Applications due by March 30, 2018. For more information, see http://pacifictheatre.org/involvement/apprenticeships

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Plimoth Plantation Costume Internship

Plimoth Plantation is accepting applications for the summer 2018 Historical Clothing & Textiles Internship.

The Intern will learn, practice and apply the steps involved in reproducing period clothing for a living history museum. This will include historical research with access to departmental and museum libraries, pattern drafting, period construction techniques, and 17th-century accessories or trims (thread-wrapped buttons, card woven trim, hat making, etc.). They will also experience the unique workings of a wardrobe shop in a museum environment.

Qualifications: Basic patterning skills, experience with operating industrial sewing machinery, hand stitching skills, familiarity with textile vocabulary, knowledge of and/or interest in 17th-century history. 

Length of Internship: June 11 – August 10, 2018

Work Schedule: Full-time (35 hours/week) and Part-Time (21 hours/week) internships are available. Some flexible hours between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Occasional evening and weekend events required. This is an unpaid internship. University credit is available.

To apply for the Internship Program at Plimoth Plantation, please submit an online application no later than March 31, 2018. Questions about the Plimoth Plantation Internship Program can be directed to [email protected]

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Flashback Fridays? We've got the urge to show off some of the pieces in our collection. Check out this gorgeous coat and waistcoat combination built for The Fountain School’s amazing staging of The Green Bird in 2016.