Costume Supervisor (Seasonal, Part-Time)

Job Title: Costume Supervisor
Job Status: Non-exempt part-time position 
Rate: $22/hour 
Reports to: Production Manager

About TimeLine

TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, is a Chicago not-for-profit theatre company with an annual budget of more than $2 million. Since its inception in 1997, the company has garnered more than 50 awards for artistic excellence and business management. TimeLine is now also preparing for its next chapter with the establishment of a new home in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.

Through 24 seasons dedicated to presenting stories that explore today’s social and political issues through the lens of the past, TimeLine’s stage has featured countless facets of that mission. From LGBTQIA+ experiences (The Normal Heart, Boy) to Jewish experiences (A Shayna Maidel, My Name is Asher Lev) to issues of cultures intersecting and intertwining (Chimerica, A Disappearing Number, A Walk in the Woods), TimeLine’s rich production history highlights a mix of perspectives. Our most recent in-person season investigated issues of humanity, legacy, and family in Oslo, Rutherford and Son, and James Ijames’ Kill Move Paradise. During a stoppage of live performances in 2020-2021, TimeLine showcased free online content, including public programs featuring Tyla Abercrumbie’s Relentless, Lloyd Suh’s The Chinese Lady, and TimeLine’s Playwrights Collective. Our 2021-22 season will include full productions of Relentless and The Chinese Lady.

While our programming seeks to reflect and support our community, we acknowledge that TimeLine has more work to do to transform into a fully antiracist, multicultural organization. Our staff, Board, and Company are committed to instituting antiracist policies and practices, championing diversity and inclusion on our stages, and fighting back against the years of oppression that our BIPOC colleagues have experienced in the theatre and performing arts industry. You can read more about our ongoing work here: timelinetheatre.com/2020/11/everyones-history.

About the Position

TimeLine is seeking a Costume Supervisor, as a part-time staff position. This role plays a pivotal part in the organization, maintenance, repair, and building of costume stock. The Costume Manager reports to the Production Manager and works closely with the Costume Designers and Wig & Hair Designers for each production to execute costume needs before, during, and after each production.

Compensation and Timeframe

  • Seasonal, part-time staff hourly position
  • Starts at $22 per hour, this position is non-exempt and subject to overtime pay for any hours worked in excess of 40 in a Monday—Sunday week, paid as employee on W4
  • Approximately 400 hours total (December 2021—June 2022)
  • Hours vary and include daytime, evening, and weekends. Contact the email below to request a production calendar

Responsibilities/Duties

  • Collaborate with Costume Designer and TimeLine’s Production Manager to set work schedules and specific goals for each production
  • Support the Costume Designer in the acquiring, fitting, and/or altering of costumes for each production
  • Support the Wig & Hair Designer for each of the productions, as agreed in advance by the Costume Designer and Production Manager
  • Attend production meetings, first rehearsals, designer run-throughs, and tech rehearsals at the discretion of the Costume Designer and Production Manager
  • Communicate with the Wardrobe Supervisor(s) on how to prep and care for costumes for each performance, as determined with costume designer and production manager 
  • Design and execute all understudy costumes for each production
  • Ensure that all costumes are properly cared for/cleaned, rentals are returned in a timely manner, and TimeLine pieces are stocked and organized in the costume storage area
  • Work with TimeLine staff to execute costume needs for pre-production photo shoots and other marketing-related events, as well as other special events, donor events, and play readings
  • Assist with planning, acquiring, fitting, and/or altering of costumes for TimeLine’s annual Step Into Time benefit
  • Develop a working knowledge of the TimeLine facility and stock
  • Maintain the organization of the costume storage area and other working areas throughout the season
  • Manage costume labor throughout the season, this includes budgeting, hiring and supervising approximately 200 hours of labor at $20 per hour
  • Manage costume budgets, approximately $500 per actor
  • Keep track of all receipts for reimbursement no later than one week after the opening of each production

Ideal Qualifications/Skills

  • Excellent organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to pay attention to details
  • Demonstrated experience in: 
    • Garment construction (contemporary and period era) /alteration
    • Hand and machine sewing techniques
    • Cleaning, steaming, and ironing of garments
    • Fitting and measuring garments 
  • Knowledge of fabric types/uses
  • Basic knowledge of costume and fashion history
  • Computer-literate

Personal Characteristics

  • You enjoy working independently, assuming responsibility, and taking initiative using good judgment and strong attention to detail
  • You can effectively identify and communicate issues or problems as they arise, and move deliberately to find solutions to them
  • You have a positive and proactive attitude 
  • You have comfort acting as a leader and taking charge in different kinds of situations, while respecting differences and making decisions collaboratively
  • You share a passion for TimeLine’s core values:
    • COLLABORATIVE: Valuing teamwork as a creative force
    • EXCEPTIONAL: Exemplifying excellence and innovation in everything we do
    • FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE: Managing resources effectively and appropriately
    • INCLUSIVE: Embracing diversity in all its forms
    • INTIMATE: Creating a close connection between art and audience
    • RESPECTFUL: Listening and being open to everyone’s perspective
    • HEALTHY & SAFE: Ensuring a clean environment and nurturing wellness

Employment Policy

Apply for this position if you are interested in obtaining a foundation in arts and production management at an award-winning theatre while supporting the theatre’s goal of cultivating a compassionate, collaborative, and safe working environment. If you are interested in learning about how an Equity theatre operates, this position will provide insight, training, and opportunities for development.

TimeLine is committed to monitoring public health recommendations, as well as the best practices for wellness and safety of all of those we serve. If you have any questions regarding COVID safety plans or compliance, please do not hesitate to reach out. For more information on our public COVID safety protocols, you can visit timelinetheatre.com/health-and-safety.

It is an essential practice of TimeLine Theatre Company to recruit, hire, train and promote individuals, based upon personal capabilities and qualifications and without regard to race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or ancestry, marital status, citizenship, disability, military status, creed, or any other trait or characteristic protected by law. TimeLine Theatre Company is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse staff and an inclusive work environment. This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to policies and procedures relating to all terms and conditions of employment at TimeLine Theatre.

To Apply

  1. Please email, in one clearly-labeled document (PDF preferred), a resume and your answers to the two short-answer questions below. Your email should be to the attention of Maggie Fullilove-Nugent, Production Manager, at maggie@timelinetheatre.com with the subject line of your email, “Costume Supervisor Position.”
  2. We will reach out to you whether or not you are called in for interviews. Please no phone calls. If you do have questions about your application, please email us at the above address.
  3. Applications will be accepted through November 19, 2021.

Short Answer Questions – REQUIRED

In addition to submitting your resume, please take the time to answer the following questions. You do not have to write a cover letter for this application, so we ask that you put your efforts into answering these questions in complete, thoughtful sentences (no need to write more than 3-4 sentences per question). Thanks!

  1. What is a skill you use to help communicate with people who are different from you?
  2. Please choose one value from the list below, and tell us how you would use this value as the Costume Supervisor at TimeLine Theatre? (Try to be specific!)
  3. How can this position and the skills you’ll learn at TimeLine contribute to your personal or professional goals?
  4. How did you find out about this position?

Staff members at TimeLine Theatre Company share the core values of the organization:

  • COLLABORATIVE: Valuing teamwork as a creative force
  • EXCEPTIONAL: Exemplifying excellence and innovation in everything we do
  • FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE: Managing resources effectively and appropriately
  • INCLUSIVE: Embracing diversity in all its forms
  • INTIMATE: Creating a close connection between art and audience
  • RESPECTFUL: Listening and being open to everyone’s perspective
  • HEALTHY & SAFE: Ensuring a clean environment and nurturing wellness