Costume Shop Loan-out Coordinator
Do you have a passion for fashion? Do you yearn to help student theater groups expand their wardrobe horizons? Do you like dressing up and exploring costume history?
If any of these questions sound interesting to you, come work with the Stanford TAPS Costume Shop team!
We are seeking 2 Costume Shop Loan-out Coordinators who are excited to flex their design creativity and fashion expertise while receiving direct training from the Costume Shop and engaging with Stanford’s theater community. The Costume Shop Loan-out Coordinator administers loan-outs from TAPS costume storage to on-campus organizations throughout the academic year. Under the mentorship of the TAPS Costume Shop team, students in this role will gain in-depth knowledge on historical costuming and how to plan and create a costume for the stage. This training will allow them to work closely with student theater productions, providing direct consultation and advising for costume design choices across a wide breadth of works by Stanford’s many theater groups. This role is best suited to someone who wants to gain hands-on experience with costume design, handling costumes and inventory, while also developing communication and administrative skills in the arts.
This role is primarily on-site with some remote responsibilities such as responding to emails. On-site work will be primarily in Memorial Auditorium Rm 132 and costume storage.
Time commitment: About 10 hours per week
Shift time: Flexible: Costume loan-out coordinators should expect to work two 4 hour shifts per week (weeks 2-10, or the equivalent.) This time can be scheduled around other commitments, but should overlap with the costume shop staff hours (8am-4:30pm Monday-Friday) and include at least 2 hours on Friday afternoons. There will likely be some additional hours for special appointments for a total of approximately 80 hours per quarter. The costume loan-out coordinators will receive training from the Costume Shop Staff during week 1 of fall quarter and continued support from the Costume Shop Staff throughout their tenures.
Pay: $16.80/hour
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide consultation on period-appropriate costume design and the creation of effective costumes for a wide variety of student theater productions under the mentorship of the TAPS Costume Shop team
- Handle communication and meetings as the liaison between the Costume Shop and student theater organizations with professionalism
- Help borrowers find appropriate items and access TAPS dressing room spaces
- Fill out paperwork to track all loan outs
- Secure PTA or SUNET ID for damage/loss deposit
- Check out costumes when loan-outs are finalized
- Check in costumes on return
- Inspect returned items for damage, hand-wash laundry as appropriate and send out for laundry and dry cleaning and invoice charges and fees to student groups
- Set loan-out hours at the start of each quarter based on academic availability
Qualifications:
- No formal costume design or theater work experience is required – Just an enthusiasm to learn!
- Must be available on campus for the entire academic year
- Must be able to lift 30 lbs unassisted
- Must be comfortable traversing and carrying items on stairs, uneven surfaces, or in low light situations
- Must cultivate a sense of stewardship over our costume stock. Be able to firmly enforce loan-out policies and deadlines when approving or denying requests on a case-by-case basis, and be comfortable saying no to peers when necessary
- Self-directed student who can set their own schedule and work independently
- Prompt communicator, able to respond to emails within 24 hours
- Organized and detail oriented
- Comfortable being a proactive communicator with students, faculty, guest artists, and staff
- Basic familiarity with Google Sheets and/or Excel preferred
Students will engage with personal biometric information. Situational awareness and sensitivity is required. Personal measurements, fitting information, and costume shop communications are confidential.
Interested students should apply on Handshake or email the TAPS Costume Shop at tapscostumeshop (at) stanford.edu with their name and a brief description of their costume experience. Students of all backgrounds and experience are encouraged to apply.