Question 1: Explain why costume is important in helping the audience understand a character's personality or role in a play.

Answer: Costume helps the audience quickly identify a character's personality, social status, or role in the story, making it easier to follow the plot and understand character relationships.

Question 2: Describe how the use of colour in costumes can affect the mood or atmosphere of a scene.

Answer: Bright colours can create an energetic or joyful mood, while dark colours can evoke sadness, danger, or seriousness. Colour choices influence how the audience perceives the scene's mood.

Question 3: List three factors a costume designer should consider when selecting costumes for a historical play.

Answer: Time period accuracy, cultural relevance, and practicality for actors' movement and performance.

Question 4: Draw a sketch of a costume suitable for a villain in a fantasy play. Label key features such as colour, accessories, and fabric choices.

Answer: A villain costume might feature dark colours like black or deep red, with dramatic accessories such as a cape or horns, and textured fabrics to suggest menace or power.

Question 5: Imagine a character who is a cheerful schoolchild. Describe the type of costume they would wear on stage.

Answer: A bright, casual school uniform such as a jumper, shirt, and skirt or trousers, with cheerful colours like yellow or blue, and simple comfortable shoes.

Question 6: How can costumes help differentiate between characters of different social classes in a play?

Answer: Costumes can reflect social class through fabric quality, style, and accessories. For example, wealthy characters might wear finer fabrics and more elaborate clothing, while lower-class characters wear simpler, rougher fabrics.

Question 7: Sketch a quick costume design for a futuristic space explorer. Include labels for key features such as helmet, suit, and boots.

Answer: A space explorer costume might include a sleek, tight-fitting suit with metallic or reflective material, a helmet with a visor, and sturdy boots suitable for walking on different terrains.

Question 8: What role does costume play in creating visual contrast between characters in a scene? Provide an example.

Answer: Costumes create visual contrast by using different colours, styles, or accessories, helping the audience distinguish characters. For example, a hero might wear bright, simple clothing, while the villain wears dark, elaborate attire.

Question 9: Describe how practical considerations, like movement and comfort, influence costume choices for performers.

Answer: Costumes need to allow performers to move freely and comfortably, especially during physical scenes. Materials should be breathable, flexible, and easy to put on or take off to ensure performance quality.

Question 10: Reflect on a time when costume helped you understand a character better in a play or film. Briefly explain your example.

Answer: In the play 'Macbeth', Macbeth’s dark, worn-out clothing in the later scenes reflected his growing guilt and despair, helping me understand his changing character.