Introducing costumatics: Costume’s transformative connection between actor and character

This article introduces costumatics: a character-building technique/acting-as-research methodology that consciously deploys costume and make-up as research tools. Heavily inspired by recent researcher-practitioner Sally Dean’s ‘aware-wearing’ and Donatella Barbieri’s experiments with costume-led performance-making, costumatics frames costume as a material tool with which the actor might alter their means of perception. The perceptual alterations made possible by costume and performance make-up are understood through theories of enactivism combined with modern conceptions of imagination and pretend play. The resulting fundamental shift in the performer’s identity facilitates a lived experience of the character’s identity. This article offers a theoretical and practical exploration of costumatics and suggests the mirror, alongside costume and make-up, as a critical tool for the costumatic actor. It argues that the integration of performance costume into existing actor training or techniques yields complex and intricate discoveries valuable no matter the performance form or media.