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COSTUME DESIGN FOR THEATRE PRODUCTIONS: 

FROM CONCEPT TO REALIZATION: A CASE STUDY 

OF THE PRODUCTION OF OBOTUNDE IJIMERE’S 

WOYENGI 

 
1 Okeke, Tochukwu J., PhD, and 
2 Chukwuma, Lilian Chiamaka  

1,2
Department of Theatre and Film Studies, 

 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 

  

Abstract 

Costume designs for theatre productions require the designer’s 

knowledge of the functionalities of costumes, first as dress and, 

most importantly, as visual aids to character interpretation and role-

playing. The designer’s cognition of the characters in the play and 

how the costumes should help the actors in their role interpretations 

inform the costume design concept. Therefore, this study aims to 

interrogate the processes involved in creating costumes for a 

theatrical production to show the creativity and interpretations 

involved in costume design. Using Teresa Amabile’s Creativity 

Theory, the study demonstrates the intricacies of constructing the 

costumes for a theatrical production using the performance of 

Obotunde Ijimere’s Woyengi as a case study. The study concludes 

that the effective realisation of costumes for theatrical productions, 

especially in educational theatres, requires the designer’s expertise 

and knowledge in costume/fashion design. 

 

Introduction 

The costume is the closest of the design elements to the 

actor’s body. It is the conglomeration of what the actor wears in the 

interpretation of his role. The costume of the actor communicates 

to the audience so much information about the ideology of the play; 

from the social strata of the character, through his beliefs, religion, 



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sex, and mood, as well as the environment of the play, the 

character’s psychology and his relationships with other characters. 

Hence, costume refers to the dress style peculiar to an individual, 

nation or period in history. According to Emmanuel Oga: 

 

Costumes are important in the Theatre not only for the 

comfort they provide the actor as he performs his 

interpretative art....costumes convey information to the 

audience through their texture(whether coarse or delicate) 

their colour (whether dull or bright) and through their shape 

(whether crème de la crème, gaudy, or outlandish). (52)  

 

Costume thus, gives an insight into the world of the play and the 

nature of the characters. The audience is thence, further 

enlightened about certain vital information regarding the 

production. No matter the nature of the costume, it should serve as 

wearable clothing to the actor. It should ultimately give the actor 

comfort because the actor dwells, sits, walks, tumbles, runs, models 

and sleeps with his costume in the world of the play. In other words, 

the actor’s comfort is imperative when designing costumes; they 

(costumes) should be designed to aid the actor in his role 

interpretation. Costume designers, on the other hand, should be 

skilled individuals knowledgeable in the art and willing to bring to 

life their preconceived ideas of the costumes. The designer, 

therefore, becomes a visionary, someone who foresees the 

costumes from his/her mind’s eye before anyone else. For effective 

costuming, the designer is expected to be grounded in the script 

where the characters emanate because the script is the creative 

source material from which the costume concept emerges. 

 

This paper will analyze the processes involved in the making of the 

production costumes for the performance of Woyengi as directed 

by Alex Asigbo and staged at the Arts Theatre, Nnamdi Azikiwe 



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University, Awka on 8th December 2021 by the Department of 

Theatre and Film Studies. The study will use the qualitative data-

gathering method to analyse the case study. Here, the primary data 

gathering method is the participant observation method and the 

non-participant observation method. In the participant observation 

method, the designer took part in constructing the costumes of 

Woyengi production to obtain first-hand information about the 

processes involved in the design process. Other sourcesdata 

sourcese; the library, the internet, conference proceedings and 

academic journals.   

 

Theoretical Framework  

  The Creativity Theory by Teresa Amabile will be used to 

analyse the study. Creativity Theory is concerned with the 

parameter of how creativity is measured and determined. The 

theory explains creative development and its different stages in 

realizing a work of art. For creativity to thrive, certain factors 

determine its success. This, according to Amabile is the 

“Componential Theory of Creativity”. Amabile asserts that there 

are four components necessary for creativity response. These 

include: 

 

--- Domain-Relevant –Skills 

---Creativity Relevant- processes 

---Intrinsic Task Motivation 

---The social environment 

 

 The Domain –Relevant-skills 

The Domain-relevant –Skills highlight the importance of 

one’s proficiency in costume designing. It emphasizes one’s 

expertise in his/her skill area of specialization. Having professional 

knowledge in creativity areas is key as it motivates its success. This 

aspect of the theory can be seen in the construction of the costumes 



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of Woyengi in which the designers constructed the costumes from 

start to finish. The designers can be said to have possessed the 

Domain- Relevant-Skill, the primary skill needed for costume 

design: the practical knowledge of costume design.    

 

The Creativity –Relevant- Processes 

The creativity –Relevant-Processes is one’s ability to 

develop new ideas different from existing ones. It challenges one’s 

thinking abilities. It inspires an individual to innovate new concepts 

of doing things. To Amabile, “People are most creative when they 

feel motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, 

and challenge of the work itself...”(3). This is evident in the 

construction of costumes for the Woyengi production as the 

designers set out to design and construct the production costumes 

by challenging their creativity notwithstanding the technicality 

involved in the costumes. Tracie Utoh-Ezeajugh further explains 

this in her “Costume and Make-up Design....” thus: 

 

The skills of a costume designer are seen in her creations. 

For a designer to prove her worth, she may need to do less 

borrowing and more creating. The ability to exhibit this 

skill as a result of any form of limitation greatly undermines 

the expertise and credibility of the designer. (43) 

 

In costume design, one’s intelligence is being tried as the 

designer conceptualises the ideas in making the costumes and goes 

further to make them a reality.   

  

Intrinsic Task Motivation 

Intrinsic task motivation states that people are most creative 

when they feel primarily motivated by the work's interest, 

enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge and not by extrinsic 

motivators. For example; the designers of Woyengi costumes were 



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motivated to embark on the task of constructing the costumes as a 

result of the passion they have for costume designing. Regardless 

of the challenges in making and creating complex costumes, they 

still went ahead with the creation. 

 

The Social Environment 

The social environment is having a good environment that 

stimulates creativity. Here, Amabile indicates that creativity can 

thrive when the designers are being encouraged to develop new 

ideas, and having a good team who is collaborative, supportive and 

not criticizing new ideas can spur one’s creativity. However, 

political problems within the organisation, a conservative low-risk 

attitude among top management and excessive time pressure can 

block one’s creativity. The success of the production of Woyengi 

costumes was a result of the support the designers got from the 

production team. 

 

Woyengi: The synopsis 

Woyengi is a historical play that is set in the Ijaw kingdom. The 

eponymous character –Woyengi is a powerful goddess of creation 

who creates her creatures in accordance with their wants and fate. 

The supreme goddess gives her creatures the freedom to choose 

with wisdom the kind of beings they would be on earth, their sexes 

as well as their deaths, but none will eat their words as their choices 

are irreversible. Lakpe chooses to become a fruitful woman to bear 

children as much as she wants. Other creatures opted to be warriors, 

farmers and Ogbanje (a spirit child that dies in her prime). 

 

Ogboinba chooses to command the earth at her will and never in 

her life will she bear children. She becomes powerful and is revered 

in the land and suddenly becomes dissatisfied with her gift, as she 

becomes envious of her pregnant friend – Lakpe whose house is 

filled with the laughter and cries of children. She dares the goddess 



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and embarks on a journey to the world of the spirit to challenge the 

goddess, Woyengi and reverse her destiny. She is intercepted by 

spirit beings who foresaw the futility of her adventure. Isembi; the 

king of the forest; the Cock; the ruler of the last kingdom of things 

that die and, Olokun; the god of the sea. She conquers them and 

goes to challenge the supreme goddess– Woyengi. Woyengi 

becomes furious and chases her from heaven back to earth. 

Ogboinba takes refuge in the body of Lakpe where the goddess 

pronounced her to remain in the eyes of the pregnant woman till 

eternity. 
 

A Character-by-Character Analysis of Costume Demands in 

Ijimere’s Woyengi 
 

Effective costuming in theatre productions requires meticulous 

analysis of the characters in the script and a full understanding of 

the concept of the play concerning the setting, the period of the play 

and the style of the production. 

In the construction of Woyengi’s costumes, the following was 

considered by the designer: the texture of the fabric, the colour, the 

character trait, the mood of the play and the style of the play. 

 

Woyengi is the eponymous character whom the play is titled after. 

She is a goddess of fertility. Woyengi symbolizes purity, 

productivity and fame hence throughout the play, she exudes these 

traits. 
 

Woyengi’s characterization demands that she is adorned in 

costume(s) that project her supernatural nature. Again, she must 

wear apparel that will accentuate her divine nature and not impair 

her movements as the celestial being. 

 

Ogboinba: She is the antagonist in the play. Her insatiable greed 

and selfishness are seen in her character. Having chosen to be 

barren and possess mysterious power to command the earth, she 



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suddenly had a rethink and went back to Woyengi to change her 

destiny so that she willfully chose herself. She is seen throughout 

the play battling with spirits like Isembi, the Cock and Olokun that 

tend to prevent her return journey to the spirit world to challenge 

Woyengi.  

 
 

Ogboinba’s costume demands that she wears costumes that will 

portray her conflicting personality and her restless spirit which 

brought about her confrontations with other spirit. She must wear 

a costume that will accentuate her divine nature while retaining her 

human personality. Her costumes should be designed to soothe her 

personality and enable her in the acrobatic movements on stage. 

 

Ogboinba’s Spirit Power 

This is the character that represents Ogboinba’s powers. This 

character’s costume demands that he wears the same costume as 

Ogboinba since he represents her powers. 

 
 

Item: This is the king of the forest, the first spirit being to wrestle 

with Ogboinba against her journey to the spirit world. 

Isembi’s costume demands that it portrays his character as the king 

of the forest and the spirit being. His costume should also give him 

freedom for physical combat with Ogboinba. 

 

Isembi’s Spirit Power  

This is the character that represents Isembi’s power. The costume 

of this character demands she wears exactly the attire of Isembi. 

 
 

Olokun: This is the king of the sea and the second spirit is to 

wrestle with Ogboinba. As a supernatural character, his costume 

should portray this. Understanding that the character will be 



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involved in a dance and a physical combat, his costume should 

however not impair his movements and dance on stage. 

 
 

Olokun’s Spirit Power 

Just like other spirit powers, the character should be a replica of 

Olokun in her costume representation. 

 
 

The Cock: The Cock is the ruler of the last kingdom of things that 

die. He is the last being to wrestle with Ogboinba. His costume 

should also portray the character of a Cock. The Cock’s costumes 

should be designed and constructed to aid his line delivery as well 

as in the dance movements and the fight with Ogboinba while still 

exhibiting the characteristics of a cock. 

 
 

The Cock’s Spirit Power 

This is the spirit being of the cock. This character costume demands 

that she is also seen as a cock. 

 
 

Lakpe 

This is Ogboinba’s pregnant friend that chooses the fate of 

marriage and fruitfulness.  

She represents the character of a true African woman. Her kindness 

is seen throughout the play as she tries to save Ogboinba who 

threatens to kill her children from Woyengi’s wrath. Lakpe’s 

costume should depict her character as a true African mother while 

accentuating her pregnant body.  

 
 

 

Conceptualising Costume Designs for the Production of 

Woyengi  

Woyengi is a stylized play that demands an appreciable level of 

creativity and artistry, especially in costume design. Hence, 

conceptualizing costume design for the play commences from the 



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script analysis stage down to the casting and rehearsals proper. 

Having understood what the costume demands for each of the 

characters are, the designer went ahead to detail the requirements 

for making costumes befitting for each of the characters. During 

rehearsal, for instance, the designer noted that Woyengi delivers her 

lines amidst song renditions and dance steps as the director had 

laced the performance with songs and dance. This was part of what 

informed the design of Woyengi’s costume because suitability and 

comfort are key factors considered in costume design. Hence, the 

costume designers ensured the costume for Woyengi allowed her to 

perform especially when climbing to the ‘heavens’ without much 

inhibition. 

      

 
Fig 1: Woyengi’s costume and headgear 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plate  1: Woyengi    
 



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The goddess was costumed in a white thick bridal silky material. 

White signifies purity, and chastity and white is generally used to 

represent celestial beings. Gillette further explains colour 

interpretations. According to him “the meaning of colour is 

constantly changing. Colour meanings are influenced by many 

factors: cultural background, age, personality, adjoining colours 

and individual mood (91).” 

 

Being the goddess of creation, the shiny white thick bridal was 

appropriate for her character.  Crystal stones were used to 

embellish the robe of Woyengi which created lovely and sparkling 

aesthetics as she sits on stage. Her costumes were made in two 

layers; the inner gown which was made sleeveless and embellished 

with ruffles at the ankle region thereby covering her legs. It was 

made to flow on her body to avoid impairing her movement on 

stage. The outer layer, a robe, covered the sleeveless nature of the 

inner costume, thereby creating a larger-than-life aesthetics. The 

silhouette of Woyengi’s costume enhanced her appearance on the 

stage as a celestial being. Her hands and feet were covered with 

gloves and stockings, all white. She was made a white tall hat 

accessorized with white cord lace and glittering crystal stones. She 

was made of white hair that complements her costume. 

 

Ogboinba  

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig 2: Ogboinba’s costume 



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Plate 2: Ogboinba 

 

The design of Ogboinba’s costume was considered by her 

character evolution. Ogboinba appeared in the first scene as a 

creature in the hands of Woyengi, then she was given magical 

powers to command the earth. Her character and costumes transited 

from an innocent creature in the hands of Woyengi into a tyrannical 

being who wants everything to go following her will and desire. 

However, the designer ensured her costumes characterized her, 

thereby interpreting the style of the play. Ogboinba is energetic, 

she does a lot of dance and acrobatic movements in the delivery of 

her lines; these informed the designer’s choice of making a pant 

and body hug for the character. 
 

 

The nature of Ogboinba’s costume  

A costume that is suitable for Ogboinba’s character was 

made. Firstly, the costume designer, having studied her personality 

and her actions in the play chose baggy pants to aid her acrobatic 

movements on stage. She was also made a sleeveless bodice, 

embellished with cowries, snail shells, mirrors and rattles. The 



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colour of her costume was off-white with a red cotton hair band 

that was beaded with cowries. The choice of Ogboinba’s colour 

was a result of her selfishness and greed. Her costume colour would 

have been immaculate white but for the fact that she rebelled, she 

was given the off–white. 

 

Isembi        

        

           
Fig3: Isembi’s costume with leaf motif 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plate 3: Isembi 

 



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Being the king of the forest, his costume was designed to depict the 

environment of the play– the forest. The colour of his costume for 

instance is brown which symbolizes the earth. His brown fur-like 

costume was embellished with green leaves giving a clear 

impression of vegetation. His head was covered with a dark brown 

hair-skin cap also creating the illusion of soil. 

 

Olokun  

 

 
           

Fig 4: Olokun’s costume and headgear with fish motif 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plate 4: Olokun and the spirit power 

 



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The king of the sea was costumed in a white costume creating the 

illusion of the sea. The sea–blue and white effects are the colour of 

his costume. The designer used a blue fabric to construct fish on 

his costume. Sea creatures’ shells were also embellished in his 

costume. The king of the sea costume was made with white jam-

pad material. The texture of the fabric is coarse, suggesting the 

shell of a fish. The costume was embellished with a blue fish design 

depicting the personality of the king of the sea. The blue colour is 

suggestive of the sea environment. The costume has cowries as 

well as the shell of crabs. His neckpiece was constructed with white 

crafted beads that suggested the teeth of the sea creatures. 

His hair was braided white giving the impression of water being. A 

snake-like fabric was used to construct a snake for the sea god to 

complement his costume and his character. 

 

The Cock 

            

 
 

Plate 5: The Cock      

 



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Fig 5: Cock’s costume 

The costume designer created the cock from a white fur-

like fabric resembling a real cock-fur. The head was constructed to 

look like a real cock, thereby ensuring that the cock speaking role 

wasn’t hindered in the construction of the beak. Hence, the costume 

designer created the cock beak that allowed the character to deliver 

his lines. 
 

   

Analysis of the Realization of the Costume Demands of 

Woyengi  

In the realization of the costumes for Woyengi, the 

designers had the freedom to explore new ideas just like Amabile’s 

postulation on “Creativity –Relevant-Processes”. Here, they had a 

supportive production crew who loved creativity and innovations, 

they never criticized the new ideas of the designers and this 

contributed to the designer’s success in the making of the 

costumes. The designers had enough time to work on the costumes 

instead of experiencing excessive time pressure that would have 



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hampered their creativity as postulated in Amabile’s Theory. The 

designers in the Woyengi production possessed the Domain- 

Relevant- Processes of costume designing as highlighted by 

Amabile. The Costume design crew of Woyengi had the practical 

knowledge of costumes that aided the realization of the costumes. 

For instance, the designers did the cutting and sewing of the 

costumes from start to finish. They underwent different stages to 

ensure the success of Woyengi costume production. These include 

careful and adequate script analysis to understand the story and the 

characters in the script, Incubation of the ideas of the costumes: 

here, the designers went ahead to conceive the various styles of the 

costumes to be constructed. After the styles were conceived the 

crew selected the different designs that would soothe the different 

characters in the play, this motivated them to carry out a market 

survey on the prices of the fabrics and the accessories to be used in 

the creation of the costume. A budget was drawn to obtain the cost 

implications of the various materials used in the design.  

After the approval of the budget by the director and the producer 

of Woyengi, all the fabrics were purchased and the design team 

commenced the drafting, cutting, and sewing of the costumes and 

the acquisition of accessories worn by the actors, this lasted for a 

period of one month. Upon completion of the costumes, the actors 

were called to fit their costumes and then adjustments were made 

accordingly.  

On the evening of the Dress and Technical Rehearsals; a costume 

parade was made and the the actors modelled their costumes they 

were made to walk and sit in them to ensure they did not impair 

their movements on the production date. The costume parade 

helped the costume design crew to make final adjustments to the 

costumes. For instance, it was observed during the costume parade 

that Woyengi’s costume needed to be reduced in length to enable 

her to climb the throne built by the scenic designers. 



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The Team equally integrated the elements of design; shape, 

line, texture, colour, mass, measure and position in the making of 

the production costumes. These were evident in the final rendition 

of the costume as could be seen in the costumes for Isembi, Olokun 

and the Cock where some motifs were sewn into the fabrics.  The 

crew also ensured that the shape of the costumes of the actors fit 

their body sizes and their sizes did not hamper other elements on 

stage.  

The colours of the various costumes used were chosen 

following the different roles and backgrounds of the characters. For 

instance, the character Woyengi was given an immaculate white 

coloured costume because of the association of the colour white 

with purity and celestial presence. The designers also considered 

the ‘line’ element to enhance the aesthetics and silhouette of the 

costumes. 

We notice lines because of their dimension and quality. 

We attach meaning to their character. Lines attract attention 

as their complexity increases... Lines that contrast strongly 

with their surroundings or backgrounds draw more attention 

than those that don’t. Curved lines are more distinctive than 

straight lines of the same length (Gillette; 70-71). 

 

This is very evident in the Cock’s costume; the Cock’s costume was 

made very distinctive and illustrative with exaggerations in proper 

dimensions. The costume of the Cock has ‘V-shaped lines that 

enhance the appearance of the cock costume.  

The textures of all the fabrics used for the production were skilfully 

selected to interpret the different roles of the characters as well as 

their backgrounds. For instance, the texture of the goddess’ 

costume highlighted her status as she was given a rich high, quality 

fabric, thick bridal satin, which was accessorised with crystal 

stones. ‘Mass’ and the ‘position’ as design elements were 

considered in the realisation of the costumes. The crew considered 



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the proportion of the body sizes of the characters and ensured that 

the costumes made for them were not overtly heavy so as not to 

discomfort them during the performance. The costumes were made 

to fit in the space provided for the actions in the play without 

inhibiting other elements on stage. For instance, the costume 

design team worked with the scenic designers to ensure the 

costumes did not collide with the scenic properties. 

 

Conclusion          

Costume is a very expressive element in the visual composition of 

stage productions. In the design for any theatrical production, the 

costume and its accessories are conceived and constructed to help 

the actors’ interpretation of their roles and to enhance the 

audience’s understanding of the production. The costume designs 

for the performance of Woyengi at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, 

Awka, in 2021 have shown that aesthetic and artistic variations 

exist in the costume productions of the play. The design and 

realisation of costumes for the Woyengi production were successful 

due to an experienced and skilled costume design crew who 

understood the intricacies of designing costumes from concept to 

realisation while adhering to the play’s overall production concept. 

It was observed that the costumes made by the designers in 

Woyengi were skilfully conceptualised to delineate the 

environment of the play, thus helping the characters in their role 

interpretations and helping the audience appreciate the play’s 

message. 

 

Works Cited 
Amabile, Teresa; Theory of Creativity. Harvard: Sage Publications. 

2013 

Gillette, Michael; Theatrical Design and Production. 4th ed. New 

York: McGraw Hill, 2000. 

Ijimere, Obotunde; Woyengi. Oxford: Heineman, 1996. 



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Oga, Emmanuel. C; “Costume and Makeup as Expressive Arts: A                                                                                               

Case Study of Selected Productions of Ola Rotimi”. Theatre 

Experience: A Journal of Contemporary Theatre Practice. 2.1 

(2003): 51-91. 


