West Potomac High School has participated in the Cappies program since it began in 1999. Each year, West Potomac costume department has been nominated for a Cappie — and won in 1999. Almost all costumes are student-designed, often with input from different members of the costume department. At any given day, the costume construction room is filled with students bouncing ideas off each other, organizing the room itself, strategizing with budgets, or sewing on the eight sewing machines and two sergers housed in the costume construction room. On weekly Saturday technical work days, as many as 15 student costumers can be found at work in the costume department.
The first step to costumes is research. Clothing styles change with each time period, so after it is decided when the play is set, popular styles (in relation to the roles) must be studied. The next step is to look at the actors themselves. The student costumers must decide which colors and styles flatter each actor or actress, or more specifically how the fabrics look under the bright lights of the theater. The costume crew looks at the way these colors or patterns can manifest certain attributes that the characters have as well. In "The Lion in Winter," the winter play last year, Queen Eleanor had to be a very strong, regal character. Her color scheme often involved deep maroon and royal purple to convey this idea.
Not only does the costume crew select, dye, sew, or otherwise alter fabric to make costumes from scratch, they also work with costumes already in the department to use and re-use ideas from the past. "Changing the fabric can completely change a costume, making it ready to suit a totally new actor or role," said veteran crew-member Rebecca Lear. In the same way, adding details like ribbon or lace can revamp an old dress. The key is to be creative with materials already at hand.