Ms. Loper, How do you feel about dress parades? Our directors always want them, but then make such a hash of them that it is a useless exercise, and wastefully time consuming, as far as I am concerned.

I have been in situations where they worked and in some where they didn't. It needs to be a "Parade" of the set, lights and costumes, because the three are supposed to enhance each other.

For a parade to do any good, it has to be held several days before dress rehearsal. If you cannot push your deadlines forward and begin your process four days earlier than you do now, then a parade is just a hassle with unconstructed items. If First Dress is on a Monday, the Parade should be on the Thursday night before that. Then you have four full days to incorporate any changes, and really finish the costumes. One reason they do not work is that the clothes are not ready and the director and designer have differing ideas about what the Parade is to accomplish.

The designer should bring the sketches in order to show the director, "What you agreed to is up on that stage." The clothes have to be wearable, with trims at least pinned in place, and the accessories carried if they cannot be worn yet. The Parade should move as quickly as possible, under the Stage Manager's direction, with only a couple of minutes spent looking at each costume, checking how the groups look together and under the lights. Any fittings or choosing of new trims or revisions of design decisions need to be done in separate meetings.

The most important part is the preplanning. The Costume Run Crew is an integral part of a Dress Parade. The crew should have already met with the designer, received dressing lists and inventory sheets, been assigned which actors to help change, and be familiar with the show. During the Parade, the crew will help the actors dress and take notes from them about all of those things that bother actors.

After the Parade, when everything has been rehung and the actors have a rehearsal, the designer and crew retire to the nearest restaurant to eat. They go over everyone's lists and write new ones, planning the work for the next few days before first Dress Rehearsal.

The best thing about a Dress Parade is that it makes the designer get down on paper everything she/he is planning for the show (if this has not been done yet), because the run crew cannot function properly without that information. Trying to do this "paperwork" on the day of the first dress is too hectic and stressful, in my opinion. Having the run crew start several days early is also a plus, with their "Load In" duties more than just taking the clothes from the studio to the dressing room. Use their sewing skills for handwork and their love of shopping to buy last minute items.

Dress Parades can work to everyone's advantage if they are done correctly.

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