Measurements and sizing young people
See UNIT 1: MEASUREMENTS for general measurements best practices.
When working with young people, particularly non-professionals, assume that the actor you are working with has never had measurements taken before.
Provide clear information about what measurements you’re going to take, how you will take them, and why you will need that information.
Simplify measurements as much as possible.
Costumes for young people or for quicker production runs will likely not be particularly form-fitting, restrictive, or require complex builds.
Depending on the production, actors may wear their own shoes and base layer pieces.
Try to avoid taking excessive measurement information that you won’t need.
Taking more simplified measurements may mean that more attention, time, and options to try on are needed during fittings.
Build these resources into your schedule if possible.
If these resources are not available, attend to this gap another way (for instance, by using loose-fitting or adjustable garments, or asking for base pieces to be brought from home).
Send home a sheet requesting measurement and sizing information from parents and guardians. This can then be augmented by taking measurements as needed.
Touching the cast may not be permitted in educational theatre contexts. In these situations, you are reliant on what the actors can tell you, but remember, they are less reliable on this than adult actors.
Kids are less likely to know their own sizes, since they are not purchasing their clothes and shoes for themselves, and their sizes are changing frequently.
Be especially conscious of self-consciousness. Everyone is impacted by body image rhetoric and self-esteem, but teens and adolescents are particularly vulnerable. Be hyper-conscious of what you say about their body and your own, how you take and track measurements, and what you say to other people.
You should never compare a person’s body to another body. This is best practice for taking measurements more generally, but is important to remember working with youth especially because on professional productions, youth roles are often double-cast. You may have two performers playing the same role, possibly wearing the same costume.