There was more to Meet Me In St. Louis than was seen. Hidden backstage was a bustle of costuming fury. People in the dressing rooms were scurrying to get on their costume before it was too late, so they didn’t miss their scene. Despite the action, the majority of the cast seemed confident in their changes.

Senior Ana Hart, who played Rose Smith, had a lot to do with her costumes.

“I have a lot of layers. Because during the time [period] you had your tights and petticoat to make the skirt bigger, and then you have your dress and sashes and things. It takes me quite a bit [of time] with my costume. Makeup and hair is a separate thing because that [is] pretty elaborate for the show too. I could probably get into my whole outfit in 5-10 minutes if I really wanted too and hair and makeup, I would say 20-30 minutes,” Hart said.

Junior Gregorio Castillo, who played Lon Smith, had a lot of wardrobe to deal with as well.

“It takes me five minutes [to put on the costume] and twenty minutes for the makeup,” Castillo said.

Castillo enjoyed the bustling action hidden backstage.

“My favorite part about the costuming is the adrenaline. It’s always: ‘oh man, I gotta get ready for this scene,’ and you have to find people to help you put it on, because if you don’t you might not be ready in time. You might miss the scene. I have a lot of transitions, but it’s nice because they are all long, I’m in one scene and don’t tun up until two more, you know,” Castillo said.

Mr. Smith was played by junior Corin Vogel. Vogel didn’t have much time to practice in his full costume.

“I haven’t been able to do a full costume uninterrupted, because up until tonight [Feb. 15] I haven’t had a full costume. Last night I had the costume, but I was getting it as the night went on. I’m thinking it’s probably going to take me, you know, no more than 10 minutes. I do [have a lot of makeup] because I am playing a 40 year old man, and I am not a 40 year old man. Age does matter. They do have to age me quite a bit; there’s a lot of lines they do, a lot of lines and different things they do to make me look older. They grey my hair a little bit. That does take a lot of time,” Vogel said.

The costumes not only took long to put on, but also took a while to make.

“The costume ladies, [are a] lovely, lovely group of women.They come in here during musical season and spend hours, hours. One didn’t go home until 2:00 last night, they’ve been putting in so much time, especially because there have been a few less volunteers who have come in and helped. They put [a costume] on you, see if it fits, if it’s the right style. After getting a general idea, you know, if they find something that they like, they’ll hem it and make it fit better. It’s very labor intensive. They usually take existing clothing and fit it to what they need,” Vogel said.

Junior Gabby Wilson, who played Agnes Smith, had the same experience as Vogel.

“Ms. Hatfield made costume out of bedskirts. I love her so much. I don’t know how long it took them for that one exactly, but I know they are making costumes for me tonight still. It’s been a very long process to make all the costumes,” Wilson said.