While we all enjoy the splendor that is Hollywood, extravagant costumes are not something most community theaters or elementary schools can afford. In fact, many mothers have stretched their imaginations to new limits making goats and shepherds out of third graders!

When I first began making costumes, I bought the material and made each one from scratch, not realizing there were fortunes in time, effort, and money to be saved with just a little ingenuity. The experienced eye looks at a black princess-style coat and sees it trimmed to reflect a style popular in the early 1800s. Children's costumes need not be constructed from collar to hem when an old dress could be transformed with only a primitive bit of sewing, or a lady's blouse might very nicely antique a young boy. Even those who sew constantly don't naturally think in these metaphoric terms, because it isn't relevant to everyday sewing. Knowing how to sew gives you an advantage, but you don't have to be an expert to assemble a costume that begins with a fitted bodice from a discarded dress or that is built on an old coat.

When a tree must walk across a stage, it must have someone inside or behind it. If your task is to create a moveable, wearable tree or some other large costume to represent an inanimate object, you must learn about wire construction. Stage supply stores sell wire designed for this purpose, but at a cost that may be out of reach for your limited budget. Don't despair! Coat hangers abound in most everyone's closets, and they're malleable yet sturdy. Baling wire or fence wire is also fairly inexpensive. With a pair of pliers, you can make a frame out of coat hangers. Stabilize it by sewing fabric over it. Don't worry about what color of pattern your fabric is, since the only way to produce those final realistic touches is by painting the fabric anyway. Wire construction requires some real planning and a lot of trial and error. It isn't my favorite task as a costumer, and after agonizing over a clock and a tree for a couple of Ravel operas, I thought I'd get to deposit the experience deep in my memory bank and move on. Not long afterwards, I was asked to make a tooth big enough to wear! A costumer's life is one of constant challenge, but then that's the joy of it.

From Elegantly Frugal Costumes by Shirley Dearing

Always something fresh and new at Contemporary Drama Service -- true to our name! For over 35 years we've been publishing new and different plays. Our musicals, plays and monologue collections are especially designed for schools, churches and community theatre. They can be used in the classroom, on-stage, or for school radio and TV.

One-Act Plays, Full-Length Plays and Middle School Comedy Plays

Contemporary Drama Service offers comedy scripts for large casts and small -- full-length plays and one-act plays. Just off the press is a play collection book titled Thirty Short Comedy Plays for Teens by Laurie Allen that will keep your teens laughing on-stage and off. The dialogue in these plays features uninhibited and uniqe characters that challenge young actors to take chances and explore opportunities. Some of the play titles include "Class Clown," "The Kissing Booth" and "Just Act Natural." Laurie Allen's plays have been performed at national speech and forensic contests with great success.

Monologue Books and Monologue Collections

Award-winning playwright Peg Kehret has another new book of thought-provoking monologues for teens, Tell It Like It Is. These monologues are both comedic and serious to help provide insights for the performers and audience to learn who they are and why. They give the actors the opportunity to recount a memorable event that opened the way to their maturity. Sample titles include "The Tooth Fairy Forgot," "Goodbye Old Jeans" and "Why It Took Me Four Hours to Make My Bed."

Church Plays

See our website for a complete listing of plays for churches, church drams and drama ministry plays for adults and children year-round. Our specialty is plays and musicals for Easter and Christmas. Many mainline churches have considered our plays the best available anywhere for over 35 years. Currently in great demand are our fund-raising mystery dinner theatres.

Theatre Texts and Drama Books

Our parent company Meriwether Publishing Ltd. continues to release the best in new theatre art books and theatre textbooks. New theate books include: Acting Games for Individual Performers by Gavin Levy, Drama Games and Improvs by Justine Jones and Mary Ann Kelley, and The Drama Teacher's Survival Guide by Margaret F. Johnson.

Visit our websites and find everything you need in drama resources for schools and churches.