There are no hard rules regarding the jobs that have to be accounted for on a Broadway show’s wardrobe crew. Each show is unique, and therefore, so are each show’s wardrobe needs. However, the following wardrobe technician jobs are typical to find backstage on a mid-sized Broadway musical.
Click on each job description to read more in-depth about each title. (coming soon)
Wardrobe Supervisor*
The head of a Broadway Wardrobe Crew. The Wardrobe Supervisor is the point person for anyone outside of the wardrobe department, be it design, production, costume shops, or management. They hire and schedule the crew, and deal with any logistics regarding the show or costumes.
Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor
This person helps the Supervisor with secondary logistics (typically in/around the theatre). This can include organization, paperwork, switching out understudies, and more! This person might also need to help run a track in an emergency.
Star/Principle Dresser
This person might be in an actor’s contract if the lead is a big name. They might get hour-after to help their actor with fans and guests. A star dresser will typically have extra tasks to do that are not costume related. (ie. filling/tracking a water bottle, or making tea). They may fill a “personal assistant” type role for their star, depending on their star’s needs.
Dresser*
A dresser works closely with the actors backstage during the run of a show. A dresser will track costume pieces and set up quick changes. They will also be a point person to the actors for costume notes and assist the actors in getting into their costumes.
Stitcher*
The stitcher will mend or repair the costumes during the run of the show. During tech, they will quick rig the costumes for quick changes and will do light tailoring to make garments fit the way they need to. They are typically called during the daytime hours. The stitcher on a wardrobe team does not build or drape costumes.
Laundry*
The laundry person on a Broadway show is in charge of doing the daily laundry for the show. Show underwear has to be washed after every show. They are also accountable for the organization and distribution of the show laundry. They also may be asked to stitch labels in things or darn socks that have holes.
Shoe Dayworker
Broadway shows are typically hard on shoes. If the show is a big dance show, a person may come in periodically throughout the week to check how the shoes are holding up. They may repaint shoes that are scratched or scuffed or glue shoes back together. This person might also take broken shoes to the cobbler to fix.
Beader
If the show has sparkles, there might be someone whose job is to check that they aren’t falling off, and if so, they will sew or glue the beads/rhinestones/sparkles back on. This is very fine/intricate work and it takes high attention to detail. If the show does not have a massive amount of beading (i.e. Aladdin, Lion King, or Moulin Rouge), a regular dayworker or stitcher might be responsible for maintaining the beads/sequins/ rhinestones.
Hat Dayworker
This dayworker is similar to the shoe dayworker. This job might exist on a show with many hats (like Wicked, perhaps!). They may be called in periodically to fix hat linings, re-affix feathers, brush, clean, and otherwise keep the hats looking brand new. If there isn’t a huge number of hats in the show, the general dayworker might check the hats during their shift. This person does not build or make hats.
Specialized Crafts
Depending on the show, there could be someone who comes in for daywork hours to maintain something unique to that specific show. This could be a call to maintain the monkey wings in Wicked, to mend puppets in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or to repair the fishnet stockings in Moulin Rouge. The needs of the show really dictate this role and what it entails.
General Dayworker*
On a typical Broadway show’s wardrobe crew, there will be daily dayworkers. These workers will arrive sometime before the dressers’ call time for a 4-5 hour call. During this time, they will check/clean/maintain/steam/prep the costumes for that evening’s show. Everything a dayworker might need to do is decided by the needs of the supervisor and the dressers. It also is dependent on the show how the daywork calls are split up. For big repairs, the dayworker will bring them up to the stitcher and add them to the repair sheet.
Overhire
If a show is big enough, there might be an overhired worker on the wardrobe team who might help with day work, run costume pieces to the costume shops or cobblers, or shop for notions that might be needed by the team. There might be an overhired worker brought on the team for only tech and previews of a show while multiple pieces are coming in and out of the theatre.
Swing*
A swing is a wardrobe worker who will train on and learn the dresser tracks on a Broadway show, typically after the show opens. This is so they can run the dresser tracks in the absence of the typical dresser, as a kind of “substitute” if the typical dresser is sick or on vacation.
Shop Steward*
This is not a separate job, but a title that someone on the full-time wardrobe team has. This person is the point person for concerns workers on the wardrobe team might have regarding the 764 contract. This person is typically a dresser (it cannot be the Wardrobe Supervisor or the Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor). If a problem arises because of the Supervisor, the Steward might reach out to the Union about what to do next. They may also be present for mediation between team members.
*denotes a position held on any/every Broadway wardrobe crew
