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Much of the time, in theatres of all sizes and budgets, costume design is the responsibility of a specific individual. Decent and fair-minded designers will of course take an actor’s preferences into consideration before deciding on a costume, though this doesn’t happen as often as I think it should. So unless I absolutely hate what I have been asked to wear, I usually don’t say much without being asked. (There are times, thankfully, when the director will hate what I am wearing as much as I do, and it gets changed.)

One thing I won’t compromise on is comfort. Costume designers like to remind us that half the character is what they wear. While I think 50% is a little high, their point is a legitimate one; a character is not complete until they are properly attired. And actor never quite feels as though they are performing at full strength until they are in their costumes. But none of it means anything if it is uncomfortable to wear.

Comfort. How many times have a I mentioned it in these columns? The first thing an actor must attain in order to produce his best work is a base level of comfort while on stage. Few things can be as distracting as clothes that are uncomfortable.

Size is just one issue. If the costume designer is in any way qualified for the job, they will have taken your basic measurements and pulled something accordingly. But so many other issues can come up with clothes that are so old, and altered so quickly so often. A piece of fabric that brushes up against your neck and drives you crazy, or something like that. It seems minor, and you may be tempted to let it go because the designer is “busy.” Yet if it bothered you enough to notice, it is going to bother you enough to be an obstacle later on.

All this is by way of saying that if you are one of those people who work overtime to not seem like a diva, remember that insisting upon clothes that are comfortable in all ways at all times isn’t being a diva. It’s standing up for what you as an actor have the right to expect from a production. Plays, especially large productions, can seem like insular affairs, where the lighting guy never sees the actors or the choreographer and the set designer pay no attention to what the other is trying to do. It may not seem like your place to approach the costume “department” with these matters. But you owe it to yourself and the show to be as free on stage as you can possibly be, and that means a costume that feels right. (Even if in the script, it isn’t suppose to feel good. We call that “acting.”)

In the end, you can more readily own all that you character is, when you are able to wear his clothing without giving it second thought. Being respectfully but firmly involved in how your costumes fit seems like a small thing indeed, but the big things are built upon the smaller ones. And every little thing you can eliminate before opening night is a step in the right direction.

They say if the shoe fits, wear it. It says nothing about forcing your foot into a shoe that does not so as not to rock that boat.