Musical theatre and drama supply stores serve a passionate niche: amateur dramatic societies, school drama departments, professional theatre companies, and individual performers. The product range spans stage makeup and wigs, costume hire and purchase, technical theatre supplies, and performing arts consumables. Each category has its own variant and metafield logic.

Theatre and drama product categories

Stage makeup: Greasepaint, cake makeup, stage foundation, special effects makeup. Shade and coverage variants. EU/UK cosmetics regulation compliance.
Wigs and hairpieces: Full wigs, half wigs, falls, toupees, beards. Colour, style, and cap size variants.
Costumes: Period, contemporary, character, professional hire quality. Size variants. Character licence considerations.
Theatrical contact lenses: Cosmetic lenses for eye colour change or special effects. Medical device classification.
Prosthetics and SFX: Foam latex prosthetics, bald caps, scars, wounds. Application materials (spirit gum, remover).
Technical theatre: Stage lighting (Fresnel, profile, LED), dimmer switches, gel colour filters, fog machines, haze machines.
Soft props and set dressing: Rehearsal furniture, prop weapons (stage), drapes and backdrops.
Printed scripts and sheet music: Licensed performance material. Requires publisher licensing confirmation before sale.

Stage makeup and cosmetics regulation

Stage makeup is regulated as a cosmetic product under UK cosmetics regulation (assimilated EU 1223/2009). Requirements include:

Responsible Person registered with SCPN (previously OPSS portal)
Safety Assessment (CPSR) for each product
Ingredient list (INCI names) in the product description or as a metafield
EU/UK version specific formulations where applicable

During migration, stage makeup product descriptions should include INCI ingredient lists. Store these as a structured metafield:

product.metafields.stage.ingredients_inci = "Aqua, Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Mica..."
product.metafields.stage.responsible_person = "Your company name (RP registered)"
product.metafields.stage.cosmetics_safety_assessment = "Completed"

SFX makeup — cosmetics vs medical device

Special effects makeup products (prosthetics, bald caps, theatrical contact lenses) span multiple regulatory categories:

Foam latex prosthetics and spirit gum: Cosmetics. Must not make medical claims.
Theatrical contact lenses: Medical devices (Class IIa). Must be sold by or on the advice of a registered optician in the UK. Cannot be sold as fashion accessories without optician involvement.
Teeth effects: If products that contact teeth make claims about tooth attachment or dental effects, they may require dental device classification.

If your WooCommerce store was selling theatrical contact lenses directly to consumers without optician involvement, this is a compliance issue to address during the Shopify migration — not simply a product data problem.

Wig product metafields

Metafield	Example	Use
stage.wig_material	Synthetic / Human hair / Heat-resistant synthetic	Care and styling info
stage.wig_cap_size	Petite / Average / Large	Variant or metafield
stage.wig_cap_circumference_cm	52 / 55 / 58	Size guide
stage.heat_resistant	true / false	Styling filter
stage.lace_front	true / false	Realism filter
stage.character	Victorian lady / Clown / 1920s bob	Style search
stage.colour	Ash blonde / Chestnut brown / Jet black	Colour filter
stage.hire_available	true / false	Hire vs purchase distinction

Hire vs purchase products

Many theatre costume retailers offer both hire and outright purchase. In WooCommerce, hire is typically handled by a booking plugin. In Shopify:

Hire products handled by a rental/booking app (Booqable integration, Rently)
Outright purchase as standard Shopify products
Linked via stage.hire_equivalent_handle and stage.purchase_equivalent_handle metafields for cross-sell on both product pages

During migration, flag hire products with stage.hire_available = true for post-migration reconfiguration with the booking app. Standard purchase products migrate cleanly as regular Shopify products.

Technical theatre lighting and equipment

Stage lighting and technical equipment is B2B-adjacent — purchased by schools, drama groups, and venues. Key metafields:

product.metafields.stage.beam_angle_deg = "25"           // Profile/fresnel beam angle
product.metafields.stage.fixture_wattage = "500"          // LED equivalent or tungsten
product.metafields.stage.dmx_channels = "8"               // DMX controllable channels
product.metafields.stage.ip_rating = "IP20"               // Weatherproofing
product.metafields.stage.mounting_type = "Hook clamp / Floor stand / T-bar"
product.metafields.stage.gel_size = "25cm x 30cm"         // For gel filter compatibility

Scripts and sheet music

Printed scripts and performance licences are a specialist product requiring publisher or performing rights society involvement. These are not straightforward ecommerce products — the licence is granted per performance, not per copy. Some retailers act as agents for Samuel French (now part of Concord Theatricals) or other publishers.

During migration, scripts sold with licence rights need clear product descriptions stating the licence terms. The physical book and the performance rights are distinct — structure this in the product description rather than as variants.

Post-migration checklist for theatre and drama stores

INCI ingredient list on all stage makeup products
Regulatory compliance review of theatrical contact lenses (optician involvement required in UK)
Wig material, heat resistance, and cap size metafields populated
Hire products flagged for booking app configuration
Purchase/hire cross-sell links via metafields
Technical theatre fixtures with beam angle, wattage, and DMX channels
Licensed character costumes reviewed for IP licence compliance
Script products with clear licence terms in description
Colour filter gel variants set up with gel size compatibility
B2B pricing for drama group and school bulk orders

Migrating a musical theatre and drama supplies store from WooCommerce to Shopify (2026)