Renovations in the Robertson College-Community Center prompted the Shuford School of Performing Arts to take a closer look at its costume storage this summer. Student Giana Tucciarone joined the effort, helping sort through storage areas across campus and ultimately clearing more than 100 boxes, totes and bags of clothing, costumes, fabric, and other materials.
Rather than simply dispose of what was no longer needed, the team decided to give the items another life.
On August 22, Catawba opened the collection to the community through a costume cleanout sale. For a $15 admission fee, shoppers could search through the available pieces and take home what they could use.
The response exceeded expectations.
About 120 people came through the sale during its three-and-a-half-hour run, searching for costumes, craft materials, wardrobe pieces, and supplies for upcoming productions. Local theater organizations and high school theater programs were among those who participated, giving costumes that had spent years in Catawba's collection the opportunity to appear on stages throughout the region.
One group traveled from Indian Trail, North Carolina, for a particularly meaningful reason. Lanti Performing Arts, located outside Charlotte, had recently lost its costume inventory when its storage facility flooded. At Catawba, the group was able to begin rebuilding that collection with pieces from the sale.
Other area theater programs were able to expand their own costume inventories at a fraction of what it might cost to purchase new pieces, extending the impact of the cleanout well beyond campus.
The event will also directly benefit Catawba students. Proceeds will support the Young Theatre Artists Development Fund, which provides scholarships, travel experiences and professional development opportunities for students in the performing arts.
The work is not finished with the sale. Remaining usable items will be sorted and donated to local thrift stores when possible, with an emphasis on finding responsible ways to handle anything that cannot be reused.
In the end, a summer storage project became an example of what can happen when a simple need is approached with creativity and purpose. Materials found new homes, community arts organizations gained new resources and funds were raised to create additional opportunities for Catawba students.
And some costumes that might have reached the end of their time at Catawba may instead have many more performances ahead.
