If you walk into the R-buildings on a Monday or Tuesday after school, there’s many students busy with their performing arts activities. Members of Band might be hosting a section rehearsal in the practice room, Color Guard might be practicing their routine on the stage and Show Choir might be learning a dance in the choir room. But another group also meets during these times, this group being the small but hardworking Costume Crew.

Costume Crew isn’t an average club. First, you need to be a member of Hart Show Choir in order to be eligible to join. It works better scheduling-wise this way and the head of costume director, Susia Ruddell, prefers to know the members on a more personal level, as she also choreographs dances for the Advanced Treble choir Hartbreakers.

Costume Crew is divided into sections based on the four competing choirs. Hart N’ Soul, Hartbreakers, Sound Vibrations and Unleashed are each led by members of Costume Crew that direct the costuming for each of their Hart on Broadway and competition sets.

An average Costume Crew meeting will often begin in the woman’s dressing room, which is where much of the costuming work gets completed. Ruddell will lead the group through the tasks that need to be completed that day and then the members will disperse, either to spaces to work on props or costumes or to one of the storage spaces such as the bins or the Awkward room to look for already completed items that can be reused. 

“It is a really good way to learn a lot of new skills that you just wouldn’t find anywhere else on campus,” says Unleashed costume lead, Bella Andrade, “You get a lot of new friends out of it.”

Costume Crew is the unseen side of the Show Choir that ensures the program can run smoothly. It’s a small yet incredibly important part of the four choirs and is full of hardworking and creative students.