Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia seeks head draper to assist our Costume Shop for the 2021/2022 season. Your daily tasks will take place in the Costume shop and storage facility which are located in our downtown building. Our yearly performance season consists of large-scale story ballets for which fitting, maintenance, alteration, and small builds will be required. Our season also includes newly commissioned works which are built in-house and on-site. The deadline and build timeline for these new works is often abridged by the choreographer or designer’s residency and availability, so attention to detail, flexibility, and grace under pressure are crucial to this position’s success. Dance draping and construction experience is required.

The Richmond Ballet production department and costume shop consists of a core group of dedicated full-time employees, along with over-hire and freelance workers. Because of our small team, these are hybrid positions. All shop staff participate in production load-ins by department, along with production duties that may include wardrobe run-crew or daytime laundry and maintenance duties. Your schedule and duties will be determined in advance, but are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. Some nights and weekends will be required during dress and tech rehearsals. Dress and tech rehearsals must be attended and worked by the draper.

In addition to working on the professional company season the Richmond Ballet costume shop also costumes the students from the School of Richmond Ballet and our community engagement program, Minds in Motion for productions both large and small, a love of children is a plus! Compensation for this position is hourly, and ranges from $18-20 per hour DOE. Paid holidays, sick leave, and somewhat flexible scheduling are a few of the many perks of joining our fun loving team!

Costume Shop Head Draper Duties and Responsibilities

• Work with the Costume Director to determine work-flow and duties assigned during costume builds

• Interpret sketches and drawings created by the Costume Designer to create the costume.

• Determine yardage for fabric and trims for the costume.

• Fabricate patterns, either by draping or flat patternmaking.

• Fit costumes to dancers.

• Cut all fabric based on pattern.

• Alter costumes as needed.

• Supervise work of first hands and stitchers.

• Research period, styles, and techniques necessary to complete costume to designer specifications.

• Maintain integrity of designer’s vision.

• Maintain clean and safe workspace.

• Participate in full build from start to finish, including notes

• Complete assigned costumes with high quality within tight timeline and budget.

• Maintain inventory of costume shop supplies and request items as needed

• Attendance at production meetings, tech rehearsals, and dress rehearsals

• Creation and completion of patterns with notes and appropriate markings for future use

• Maintenance of costume storage as assigned

• Advising on fitting requests

• Assist the Costume Director with creation of budgets for build based upon yardage and supply estimates, build time, and fitting time

• Wardrobe (backstage) and maintenance duties for productions as required/ assigned

• Any additional tasks as requested by the Costume Director or the Production Manager

Other duties may include:

Participation in education/ outreach program builds, rehearsals, and performances

Participation in SRB programs builds, rehearsals, and performances

Benefits Included. Full Time Position.
Salary commensurate with experience. Prospective candidates should send a cover letter, resume, salary requirements, and letters of reference to jobs@richmondballet.com. Please no phone calls. EOE

posted July 27, 2021

Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia, is looking for an innovative, hard-working designer to join our Marketing Department. The Graphic Designer is responsible for maintaining the Ballet’s brand standards, working closely with all departments within the organization. Job duties for the position include creating ads for print and web as well as the design of posters, counter cards, playbills, MailChimp campaigns, and other marketing collateral. The Graphic Designer is also responsible for updating the Richmond Ballet website. Other duties for this position include assisting our Public Relations/Content Manager in keeping social media current, participating in promotional events, and more.

While there are no absolute requirements, a successful candidate will hold a degree in Graphic Design or a related field; however, relevant work experience could be considered in lieu of a degree. The candidate should be proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator), and a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and WordPress is an advantage. New graduates are encouraged to apply. Salary based on experience.

Prospective team members should send a cover letter, resume, salary requirements, and PDFs of your five best design samples to jobs@richmondballet.com. EOE

posted July 2, 2021