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Posted August 23, 2026

Wardrobe and Hair Manager

Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Ashland, OR, US Full Time

Job Description

Job Description

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Manages wardrobe and hair personnel, including but not limited to:

  • Oversees Wardrobe Supervisor and Hair & Wig Supervisors who create work assignments and manages the day-to-day schedule and workflow.
  • Provides materials and equipment needed for wardrobe and hair personnel to successfully open, run, and close a show.
  • Ensures wardrobe and hair personnel understand and uphold OSF mission and values.
  • Ensures wardrobe and hair personnel understand and adhere to the company handbook, collective bargaining agreement, AEA guidelines and production department guidelines.
  • Ensures wardrobe and hair personnel understand and adhere to safety procedures, creating additional safety protocols when necessary.
  • Ensures regular inspections of hair salon and stations, adhering to HLO, Health Licensing Office regulations on safety, sanitization, and infection control.
  • Recruits, hires, conducts performance reviews, manages progressive discipline with P&C, and organizes the on-boarding and off-boarding processes for wardrobe and hair personnel.
  • Performs administrative tasks such as payroll, expense reports, and injury forms.

Exemplify respect and inclusion by:

  • Demonstrating and creating an environment where each employee is supported.
  • Maintaining a safe and anti-racist working environment.
  • Recognizing micro-aggressions and interrupting othering behaviors.
  • Operationalizing IDEA concepts into organized practice in systems, processes, and problem-solving techniques.
  • Collaborating with other managers to enforce safety policies and keeping up to date with required management-level training.

Manages the Wardrobe and Hair support of shows. Duties include and are not limited to:

    • Organizes and/or ensures organization of all wardrobe and hair functions for individual shows, including working technical rehearsals, troubleshooting, run crew documentation, and show reports.
    • Manages all Hair & Wig and understudy fittings with the Director of Stage Management.
    • Ensures design integrity and quality control of the costume and hair design throughout the season.
    • Ensures the maintenance and organization of wardrobe and hair spaces and equipment.
    • Ensures wardrobe and hair follow safety, sanitization, infection control of all workspaces; provides disinfectants and safety equipment.
    • Ensures Wig Leads and Key Stylist organize hair/wig inventory, pull, purchase, alter, or manufacture all wigs, hair styles, and facial hair as designed and approved by the Costume Designer. Supervises schedule for hair care and wig maintenance.
    • Collaborates with Costume Designer and Wig Leads to create show specific make-up.
    • Collaborates and communicates with the Costume Shop to balance the show requirements with OSF resources to meet show and performer needs safely and efficiently- regarding wig builds, quick changes, understudy fittings and wig fittings, and hair prep or style.
    • Develops and advocates for Wardrobe and Hair’s annual labor, material, and capital budgets in the season budgeting process. Manages budgets throughout the year, keeping leadership apprised of any challenges.
    • Attends Production Meetings, show specific costume meetings; convenes department meetings and show specific wardrobe and hair meetings.
    • Participates and actively engages in Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.

    Collaborates, coordinates, and communicates with many internal stakeholders about wardrobe and hair functions. Some examples include:

    • Costume Shop: regarding costume closure modifications and special care of costumes and wigs, resources, paperwork, load out schedule, cleaning and restoring costume rental items, and production transfers.
    • Collaborates and resolves pre-show schedule for hair prep and dressing order, quick change choreography, and on-stage pre-sets.
    • Stage Management: regarding AEA updates, run crew assignment needs, and show breakdowns; keeping apprised changes to entrances/exit locations and run times; collaborating closely with quick changes prioritizing crew and actor safety, and specific needs for any given performance, understudy fittings, etc.

    Other Duties and Responsibilities:

    • Responds to after-hours emergencies and participates in emergency response teams.
    • Assist in maintenance, transportation, and cleaning of show and rehearsal costumes, including dry cleaning, as needed
    • Emergency understudy during the run of shows.
    • Represents OSF at organizational functions and conferences when requested.
    • Advises and/or leads facility maintenance and improvement projects as appropriate.
    • Assist Development and Marketing departments (for example, occasional donor events or creating content re: quick changes for social media outlets).
    • Other duties as assigned by Costume Director.

    Supervision Received:

    Costume Director

    Supervision Exercised:

    Wardrobe Supervisor, Hair & Wig Supervisors, wardrobe and hair staff.

    Required:

    Education: High: School Graduate or equivalent.

    Work Experience: 5 years of experience in professional theatrical wardrobe, preferably experience supervising projects and/or people in the entertainment industry.

    Preferred:

    • Experience in using industrial and home sewing machines with a variety of fabrics.
    • Knowledge or ability to understand regulations detailed in OHA, Oregon Health Authority Cosmetology Safety and Sanitation rules.
    • Experience in wig building, wig fronting, dying lace, and with working various adhesive methods.
    • Experience in wig building and hair care of Black/African American and multi-textured hair.
    • Experience with special effects on-stage makeup and prosthetics supporting all skin tones and genders.

    Qualifications/Skills:

    • Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
    • Ability to effectively address conflict and resolve in a professional manner in line with OSF’s values.
    • Knowledge of costume periods, safe work practices, and understanding repertory calendars.
    • Thorough knowledge using computer software, including Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, SharePoint, and other cloud-based information sharing systems.
    • Proficient in quick-change choreography for run crew planning with both costumes and hair.
    • Demonstrate initiative and tenacity in short-term and long-term planning.
    • Ability to collaborate and behave in a productive manner with colleagues and staff.
    • Ability to adapt and flex to operational changes and new procedures.
    • Expertise in organization, time management, and decision making.
    • Excellent Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Access analysis and inclusive behavior:
    • Able to identify and dismantle work systems that uphold and promote systems of white supremacy; to re-envision and implement new systems that account for equity and promote inclusion in all areas of work.
    • Ability to approach relationships with colleagues and staff, particularly those belonging to underrepresented or historically marginalized groups, with an understanding that identity informs every individual’s human experience in a way that may differ from their own personal experience.
    • Ability to communicate about body proportions, hair textures and styling, skin tones and identities using respectful and equitable language.

    Physical Ability:

    • Lift and move costumes, wigs, and equipment weighing up to 30 pounds, climb stairs repeatedly, kneel, squat, and bend. Sit and stand for eight hours or more a day.

    Special Hours Requirements:

    • Night-time/overnight and weekend hours are regularly required. The standard work week is Tuesday – Sunday. Long hours are required, especially during technical rehearsals. The ability to respond to emergencies with little notice is required.

    Preferred:

    • Experience working with unions and within the context of collective bargaining agreements. Attended EDI or anti-racist trainings. Experience working in a repertory environment.

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