Dressing for Rehearsal
What I wore on my first week of rehearsing a new Broadway show.
Confession time! I used to hate the clothes I wore to rehearsal. Specifically when I was rehearsing for a musical, which on a regular day could yo-yo back and forth between high intensity cardio and sitting for hours. I would look at myself in the mirror around 4 p.m., frizzy and rumpled and begging for a shower, and feel sad. (Lol.) Given that a theater work week is six out of seven days, this meant I was spending the vast majority of my time feeling out of sync with my wardrobe. That’s a problem for a gal like me! It’s true that the athleisure offerings were not what they are now, but the real issue was that I could NOT figure out how to dress like myself and still be dressed for work.
Looking back, I can see that a major part of my problem was that I was operating with what Tibi founder and creative director Amy Smilovic calls a bifurcated closet. My “fitness closet” was totally separate from the rest of my wardrobe—or at least it was in my mind. Once I approached rehearsal dressing the way I approached getting dressed for anything else, I started feeling like myself again. For me, this primarily meant mixing my “regular” clothes in with my fitness gear, and also treating getting dressed to work out as more than just a functional task. And while “dressing for rehearsal” might be a specific ask of my current work schedule, I can think of a whole host of other scenarios in which the risk of a bifurcated wardrobe might be high—work clothes vs. weekend clothes, formalwear vs. everyday wear, kid-proof clothes vs. “grown-up” clothes. I really like the idea of building a closet free of capital-S Sections, that flexes in all directions no matter the scenario.
Fast forward to last week, when I started rehearsal as the Associate Choreographer for Suffs (an incredible new musical about the 1913 women’s movement for the right to vote). As the associate, I help the choreographer design movement and stage the show, and I also track the actors’ movements digitally to build a “show bible”—a physical record of all choreography and staging in the musical numbers of a production, which any creative team member can then ‘read’ and reference throughout the life of the show. It’s two parts physical work and one part desk job, so I need my clothes to be flexible and comfortable, but still (a little) professional.
Below, how I layered my clothes to achieve this during our first week of rehearsal.
Monday:
For most shows, day one is primarily used for orientation, a meet and greet, and design presentations (where creatives like the set and costume designers talk about their plans for the production). I was still on the mend from a cold the week prior, so I wanted to keep this chill and easy—but still nice enough for the “first day of school.” No dance this day, so I could get away with hard pants, but the wide leg on these jeans made them comfortable enough for long stretches of sitting/orientation presentations.
Tuesday:
This day was mostly choreography prep for us, while the cast was in music rehearsals. These fun track pants I got on sale around the holidays, and I love the punch of energy from this bright color—especially for long days!
Also note: here begins what turned out to be a getting-ready formula for my week: soft pants + workout top + sweater + collared shirt. Flexible enough to dance in, structured enough to not feel sloppy. Werk. (Literally.)
Wednesday:
Behold, the formula again! I can dance in the leggings and tee, but the sweater and the collared shirt still keep this in “I’m going to work” territory. It’s also been *prettyyy cold* in NYC, so I don’t hate having these extra layers.
Thursday:
Thursday took two tries. Here’s attempt 1:
The rehearsal docket for Thursday mostly included a lot of creative staging. If I were expecting a heavier dance day, this outfit might have been fine (adding one more layer on top). But with these long sleeves, I was guaranteed to eventually lose any top layer I added, and in that case this felt like too much midriff for a step-touch. LOL IDK. I just feel like if the abs are going to be all the way out, I am planning on getting Flashdance-level sweaty. That’s my personal hot take/let your belly button fly free every day if that’s your vibe!
Here’s where I landed instead:
Okay okay, I know, the tummy is still out, but now the arms are free! Which made it easier to layer on top. Also, yes, I was wearing two pairs of pants this day, but it was EXTREMELY COLD OUT, so those were my vibes!
Moving on.
Friday:
This was my least favorite outfit of the week but here we are. It’s the baby tee! Ugh! I only have this one, which I purchased in a moment of weakness, but it takes me straight back to 2006, the year of my previous foray into baby tees and…it’s just like whyyyyy are they so tight? SIGH. I do find this one nice for layering under sweaters, so I keep it, but wearing the tee on its own makes me feel like a 15 year old. Anyhoo, that’s the journey I’m on! I do love this big black collared shirt—I call it my director shirt. Can you see why?! Especially with the addition of the baseball cap, it’s giving woman-behind-the-camera! Check the gate!
Saturday:
When I woke up on Saturday it looked like this outside:
So I leaned in and went full ski vibes. By that, I mean I wore a onesie.
Lol lol lol! I literally got this unitard for free, and I don’t care that it’s giving beginner modern dance vibes. It is extremely soft, and I can wear it sans bra, and I get to have the cheeky secret all day that I am dressed like a toddler underneath and no one knows! Just to keep this look on this side of professional, I returned to my newly established formula, and added a collared shirt:
And there you have it. GRWM complete! I’m now going to go sleep for 12 hours—but this new rehearsal formula is my gift to you this week! Let me know how it goes. XX!
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