COSTUME SWATCHES

Item description: 

Different costume swatches are gathered on a ring. Each of them represents a costume used in Waitress, and all of them provide a diverse range of bright colors and fun textures. Each swatch is stapled to a corresponding card that lists the associated character or moment in the show. 

About the Item: 

As this production of Waitress takes place in the early 1990s and ends in the late 1990s, much of the clothing shown on stage is actual vintage clothing. However, we did build a few things for the show including all the waitress uniforms, the Betsy Ross dress Dawn wears, Dawn’s wedding dress, and the finale aprons. When swatching, or exploring fabrics to use in this show, we intentionally looked for fabrics that weren’t high end because the characters in the musical would not have had access to those fabrics and/or the means to buy them. One of the most important choices was the color for the waitress uniforms, as it needed to meld with the diner colors; the uniforms also needed to look like they had been around for years and years. We actually ended up using the backside of the waitress uniform fabric because it is dusty-looking and slightly faded. If you flip that swatch over you will notice the “right” side which has a more satin look to it. The costume designer, Danielle Nieves, designed the waitress uniforms with a nod to the waitress uniforms in Twin Peaks, the classic David Lynch 1990s TV series that takes place in Washington. 

Also part of this display is a mini apron like the ones used on stage. They are the exact same design, just a smaller scale, so you can see the binding on the edges and the pockets that are used constantly by the actors in the play. A fun fact, there are seven waitress uniforms in the show (for the primary cast, understudies, and swings) and there are 14 waitress aprons! Almost every actor has two or three aprons because they have to be used in different ways in different scenes. The ways that the aprons get taken on and off stage also change from scene to scene so they have to be “rigged” or fastened in specific ways, to help the actors remove them or put them on quickly. 

You can access the names of The 5th’s costume and wardrobe team members in your show program. 

SCENIC ART

Item Description: 

A sampling of scenic art and props is displayed, including scenic elements specifically created for our production of Waitress. Scenic elements on display include a small version of the billboards seen onstage, samples of diner set pieces, sections of a faux wooden pylon and scrim fabric, and an example of the painting techniques used on the floor of the stage. Also on display are a pie prop and a recipe card-stand that contains examples of the different painting color combinations and techniques used in Waitress.    

About the Items: 

Pie Prop: There are three different types of pies seen onstage in Waitress: fully edible pies, fully fake pies, and hybrid pies that have fake bases and edible parts. The pie on display here is a fully fake pie made of plastic and resin. A fake pie like this would likely be used during parts of the show where the pie is onstage but doesn’t need to be eaten or during a musical number with a lot of dancing since those pies need to be sturdy enough to withstand the choreography for many performances.

Billboard Mock Up: The small billboard on display is a sample of the materials used to make the larger billboards seen in Waitress. The billboard is made with steel tubes which have been textured and painted to look like wood. The plywood rectangles have been spattered with the same paint colors used in the billboards onstage.   

Sample Diner Set Pieces: The curtain rod and gingham curtain are the same items you can see in the diner in our production of Waitress. There is also a sample of the green tufted bench cushions in the diner. The cushions are made of vinyl and stuffed with cushion foam.         

Wooden Pylon Sample: The cardboard tube on display has been painted and textured to look like a wooden pylon. Painting faux wood grain is an essential skill in any scenic artist’s tool belt. Scenic artists are regularly asked to paint wood grain in a myriad of colors and styles and on a myriad of surfaces. A common joke in the industry is “Can you paint this wood to look like wood?” The actual painting of wood grain is straightforward. It starts with a usually lighter wood tone base coat. Then using brushes cut and shaped by the scenic designer for woodgrain, glazes are applied to create the veins and knots in the grain.

Section of Scrim: Scrim is a painted mesh material used for backdrops and creating visual effects. When scrim material is lit from the front it’s opaque, but when it’s lit from behind it becomes transparent. This means that the scrim can be used as a surface for projections or to create shadow and silhouette effects. A scrim can also be used to hide an actor’s entrance until the right moment. Use the buttons mounted on the unit to switch lights on and off and explore how scrim works for yourself!

Recipe Card-Stand: This recipe card-stand does display recipes, but not the ones you might think! Each of the “recipe cards” on the stand show the paint colors used to make many of the scenic pieces in Waitress. By looking through the cards, you can see the combinations of paint colors used for different parts of the scenery and also get a sense of some of the techniques used to apply the paint. 

Floor Sample: The structure is painted using the same techniques and colors as we used to paint the floor of the stage for Waitress. The floor was painted black, then was spattered with tan, white, green, pink, and brown paint. 

You can access the names of The 5th’s production team members in your show program.

HAIR/WIG PIECES

Item Description: 

This is a long hair acrylic wig styled into an early 1990s hair style. Hairstyles in the 1990s were known for perms, lots of texture and volume, big bangs, blond highlights, and hair accessories. Much of the early 90s still embraced the looks we associate with the 1980s, especially in places like the world Waitress takes place in. Styles didn’t change as quickly as they do now, particularly in areas that were more rural, because the urban influence was less pervasive and most shopping was done locally as the internet did not exist. 

These wigs are styled in two different ways. The blonde wig features dark roots, “mall bangs” (feathery and wispy straight bangs), and a partial updo held in place with a pink scrunchie with pearl trim. Accessories in the 90s were over the top and almost always had added trims and details like pearls. The brunette wig is styled in a partial updo with classic 90s roller curls and big bangs worn with a two tone scrunchie. 

About the Item: 

Did you know that most of the actors in our productions are wearing wigs? A wig is a head or hair accessory, often made from human hair or synthetic fiber. Both human and synthetic wigs can come in a rainbow of colors, different styles, and textures! Wigs help support consistency of the look of the characters throughout the run of a show and can also protect the actors’ own hair from any heating or styling that would be required for every performance. A lot goes into wig design, and what is seen on stage comes from hours and hours of hard work and research from many people – from the initial design work all the way to the first preview. 

At The 5th, we often make the wigs ourselves in house for specific actors. If we aren’t making a new wig for someone, we have a stock of over 600 wigs (mostly human hair) of varying colors, lengths, and textures to work from. We mostly use human hair for wigs because it is much easier to work with and can be styled and cared for just as we would with our own hair including washing, conditioning, setting it on rollers, using curling irons, coloring it, or even perming it. 

We work closely with costume designers to create the specific look for each actor. We have meetings with each individual actor (we call them “fittings'') where we choose the size, texture, and color of the wig that best suits both the actor and their character. We then style the wigs while keeping important factors in mind such as the time period of the production, the actor’s ethnicity, the character’s societal class, the scene situation, whether the show is realistic vs. fantastic, and whether or not additional items need to be worn in or on the wig, such as a hat or accessory piece. Both human and synthetic hair can also be used to make facial hair including mustaches, eyebrows, sideburns, beards, soul patches, goatees, and more! 

When selecting a wig for an actor, it’s a priority to show respect and care for the actor’s identity and ensure that their particular hair texture is shown through the use of wigs whenever possible. We want all people to be accurately depicted on our stage and for audience members to see their identities represented too. You can access the names of The 5th’s hair and wig team members in your show program.