ABOUT ME

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I'm a costume designer, technician, and educator currently based in Spokane, Washington, where I am the Theatre Program Director at Gonzaga University. I have designed and built costumes in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, California, and Washington. I hold an MFA in Costume Design from University of California, Irvine, and an MA in Theatre from Miami University in Oxford, OH. This scholarly base inspires my design work, as hearty research and thorough script analysis are hallmarks of my creative efforts. 

Some favorite designs include Variations on a Theme with Kyle Davis (Gonzaga Dance) Jesus Christ Superstar (Gonzaga Theatre), Ripe Frenzy (Whitman College), As You Like It (UC Irvine), Cyrano: Rehearsed (New Edgecliff Theatre in Cincinnati, OH), Embraceable Me (Little Fish Theatre in San Pedro, CA) and The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu (Miami).

I've worked as a costume technician for the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, IL; Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre in North Hollywood, CA; and Broadway Costumes, a large rental house in Chicago, IL. My specialties include wig styling, draping, and dyeing.

Recently my research interests have centered on finding more environmentally friendly and sustainable practices in costume design and construction practices. In 2017, my research project on natural vs. synthetic dyes was featured at the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in the adjudicated Tech Expo; it was also named one of the Top 5 projects and my abstract was published in USITT’s quarterly journal, Theatre Design and Technology. I continue to explore the use of natural dyes in my designs at Gonzaga and I'm pleased to be keeping the Spokane River a little cleaner by using only plant-based dyestuffs and naturally occurring salts, instead of the industry-standard synthetic dye chemicals.

Recent and current projects include designing Ripe Frenzy at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, as a guest artist in residence with director Emily K. Harrison; writing a chapter on the work of Broadway wig maker Paul Huntley for Theatre Artisans and Their Craft: the Allied Arts Fields from USITT/Focal Press; designing wigs/hair/makeup for Orfeo ed Euridice with Inland Northwest Opera; and designing and producing The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Gonzaga Theatre with guest director Jadd Davis.