First fittings for The Grapes of Wrath are finished and now we are all working towards being as organized as possible. While this show is smaller than La Bohème (only 27 in the cast as opposed to 60) with fewer pieces overall, there are many costume changes throughout the show, some that need to happen quickly. As they rehearse, we are trying to get as many pieces as possible to rehearsal so the performers can learn how the various pieces track through the show and to avoid a last minute scramble during dress rehearsals. It's not helping that everything is tan, brown & gray and basically looks the same. Most everyone has a basic costume that doesn't change and then they add various hats, vest, sweater, etc... to indicate a new character. When I audited the show last week, I updated my original scene breakdown to reflect all the changes (above).
At the same time, the stage management team is continuously updating the "Who, What, Where" (WWW) during rehearsal which tracks every single non-acting action by each cast member. My assistant is now adding the Adds/Strikes from my breakdown into the WWW so there is a master location for all the information. The wardrobe supervisor, in advance of load out, will now cross-reference my chart with the WWW to create the wardrobe run sheets to the crew knows where to be for the changes and where each item needs to be preset. We tech the weekend after Thanksgiving and while the performers won't be in full costume, they will tech using all the bits and pieces that come and go.