Running Head: THE EFFECTS OF COSTUMES IN THEATER

The Effects of Costumes on Actors and Audience Members in Theater

Celisse Baldie
Liberty High School
11/28/15

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If death meant leaving the stage just long enough to change costume and come back as a
new character, would you slow down? Or speed up? (Palahniuk, 2009). Palahniuk best
summarized the shift that can occur when actors lose themselves in the character they are
portraying. Each member of the human race has a completely individual personality and life
experience that make them who they are. However, in current twenty first century society,
entertainment is found by many people from watching people pretend to be someone theyre not,
be it watching T.V., going to a movie, or watching a play at the theater. Individuals are even
willing to pay significant amounts of money to observe these forms of entertainment.
Theater is one of the oldest forms of visual entertainment, dating back most memorably
to Grecian times, when all walks of life gathered to observe the thespians. In Grecian times,
plays were performed by few actors, and never by women. Interestingly, many productions were
love stories, requiring both men and women. Grecian actors donned wigs, masks, and dresses to
portray any females present in the play. The use of costumes allowed for the audience to
perceive the actor as this separate entity, even if they were aware that it is just an actor in a
mask.
In more modern theater, costumes are more intricate, vary from play to play, and can
reflect the personality or situation of the character more accurately, but they still accomplish the
same task. Actors have reported that, not only does the audience experience the shift from actor
to character, but the actors experience a shift as well. Researchers have analyzed the

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neurochemicals in the brains of actors before and after putting on a costume, and found had
shifts do occur. Theatrical costumes can cause physical and psychological shifts in actors as well
as in members of the audience, although that can depend on the actor or even the costume itself.
Actors report a strange phenomenon when putting on a costume. They claim that putting
on a costume causes a shift in the way they connect with and portray the character. Andrea
Runge, an actress who has been what the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for five years, claims
that each costume brings life to the characters. I could feel [Rosalind] come alive in that
moment. They werent my clothes (as cited in Topham & Schweitzer, 2012, p.23). Although
many actors give similar accounts, the goal of an actor is to take on the personality and life of a
completely different person or character (Zazzali, 2013). Although there is no indisputable
evidence that a personality shift occurs within the actor when they don a costume, there is, in the
least, a placebo effect that occurs due to a release of neurochemicals and hormones into the
bloodstream of the actors.
Researchers at the University of Chicago took blood tests from fifty actors before and
after they got into costume. The results brought a new possibility to light. Wickford (2007)
discovered that actors had increased levels in the neurochemicals serotonin, adrenaline and
oxycontin after getting into costume and applying stage makeup. Wickford puzzled over the
results, cautiously stating that ...a clear chemical reaction occurs biologically within the actor.
However, it is unclear what this reaction means in direct relation to the addition of costumes to
the actor (Wickford, 2007, p.27). Serotonin is referred to as the happiness molecule, and

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increased levels in the body often causes people to feel happier. Dopamine has a similar effect
when in excess amounts. Increased levels of adrenaline have been known to increase ones
awareness of their surroundings and increase heart rate (Coila, 2015). A notable increase in these
hormones and neurochemicals after putting on theatrical costumes and makeup indicate that
actors do experience, in the least, a slight shift in personality. However, this study does not show
any evidence to suggest the extent of severity of this personality shift or how long the effects
lasted after the actor removed the costume and makeup. Because the researchers did not
remeasure the levels of dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline in the actors after they removed
their costumes, it is impossible to determine whether or not these changes were caused solely by
the actors putting on the costume.
When surveyed about their enjoyment of the theatrical production of Henry VIII,
audience members conveyed their interpretation of the importance of costumes on the overall
production. Critic for the Cambridge University Press and audience member Angela Rezing
praised the production for its brilliant use of costumes and dull colors to remember a passed
time (Rezing, 2013, p.201). Rezings observations are a common sentiment among audience
members, but her profession and twenty-two years of experience allow her to make more critical
observations and express her thoughts more clearly. Actors appearing in period-specific garments
can help the audience believe that they have been transported into a place or time period separate
from that they live in. It is a common belief among audience members that costumes merely add
small details and finishing touches to a theatrical production. However, researchers Birringer &

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Danjoux (2013) observed student performances at the Juilliard School of Performing Arts
thoroughly disagree with the notion. The researchers had the students perform the production
twice over two days. On the first day, the students performed without costumes but with all other
technical aspects. The second performance was done with costumes and all technical aspects.
The performance was rated by the professors at the school and a small audience of twenty people
pulled off the street by the researchers on a scale of 1-10 on three aspects; enthusiasm of actors,
character retention, and ease of acting. Both performances were scored by the same audience. At
the conclusion of the study, researchers concluded that actors in costume accurate to the
character they are portraying perform with more enthusiasm and character accuracy than actors
not in costume (Ravelhofer, 2006, p.199). This suggests that dress rehearsals are critical to
achieving the best possible production of plays and musicals, as actors more actively portray
their assigned role during these rehearsals. On the contrary, other researchers suggest that the
best productions are done by actors who are forced into a bare bones situation, where the
company either cannot afford costumes or try to work without them, because the actors are
forced to connect with their character at an earlier point in the production (Burden, 2011, p.
132). However, the Italian Opera is very costume intensive, so Burdens practices contradict his
testimony.
With both input from audience members, critics, and actors themselves, it can be
concluded that costumes do, in fact play a vital role in the suspension of disbelief in the world of
theater, and can cause the actors and audience members to experience unconscious psychological

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and physical changes. It can be speculated that further research into this subject can lead to a
more intensive and immersive experience when going to watch a play. If research was to
continue on this topic, it is hopeful that more research would be done into the cause of the
neurochemical shift that occurs in actors after they put on the costume. Further inquiry into this
effect could lead to psychological breakthroughs, and further advancing in the treatment of
mental disorders. Wickfords study holds untapped potential that could lead to the treatment of
depression and anxiety disorders, and his study show increase in happiness molecules when
people are put into costumes. The chemical shift that occurs could hold the key to unlocking the
secrets behind personality and anxiety disorders. With disorders such as these on the rise, it is
imperative that studies continue swiftly and urgently.

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References
Birringer, J., & Danjoux, M. (2013). The Sound of Movement Wearables: Performing
UKIYO. Leonardo, 46(3), 233-240. doi:10.1162/LEON_a_00562
Burden, M. (2011). Stage Designers Working at the Italian Opera: The Evidence of the Librettos.
1710-1801. Theatre Notebook, 65(3), 126-151.
Chuck Palahniuk quote. (2009). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/chuckpalah393177.html?src=t_costume
Coila, B. (2015, May 12). Effects of Serotonin on the Body. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://www.livestrong.com/article/154361-effects-of-serotonin-on-the-body/
Ravelhofer, B. (2006). Non-Verbal Meaning in Caroline Private Theatre: William Cavendish's
and James Shirley's The Variety ( c .1641). Seventeenth Century, 21(2), 195-214.
Rezing, M. (2013). Review of Henry VIII. Cambridge University Theatre Review. 200-203.
Topham, S., & Schweitzer, M. (2012). 'The first time I put on a Maggie Smith ...': The Role of
Costuming in the Artistic Process of Actresses at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
Canadian Theatre Review, (152), 32-37.
Wickford, Q. (2007). The Biological Effects of Theatrical Costumes on the Body. Biochemistry
& Analytical Biochemistry, 25-39.
Zazzali, P. (2013). Actor Training in New York City. PAJ: A Journal Of Performance & Art,
35(1), 49-56.