Shows

The Great Gatsby: Student Costume Coordinator (Methacton High School Fall 2022)

This was the first and only production I helped costume at my school, due to the absolutely massive time commitment that is school theater!  This is also the only production that I both costumed and performed in (I was part of the ensemble.)

My main task was altering and embellishing the dresses of the main dancers to be more of a flapper style.  I did not get the chance to be involved with the design process, so I focused on making sure Ms. Schwartz's ideas were executed the exact way she wanted them!

James and the Giant Peach Jr: Puppets Master and Costume Assistant (Firebird Theater 2024)

This was the first show that I did with Firebird, and the first show I helped costume not at my school!  I worked with Julie Kruk, an experienced costumer and makeup artist.  She taught me a lot about how costuming a show works!

I did a bunch of alterations for this production, but what took up most of my time were the puppets!  Each bug character in James spends a portion of the show piloting a puppet version of themself, so it was my job to create those!  I used paper towels and plastic bags to build up the shapes of each bug, and then wrapped them in masking tape until emooth.  I learned this technique to create faux taxidermy dragon heads, and it really came in handy here!  I used wire hangers wrapped in tape for the legs and antennae.  All of the puppets were on dowels, and I painted them with acrylic paint.  

The worm and the rhino were the two exceptions to this process!  For the worm we wanted him to be floppier, so I used fabric that matched the costume pants that the actor wore.  For the rhino, I compressed a pillow to create the head, and attatched a blanket to cover the pilot.  We also added red LED lights to the eyes to make him look more menacing.

In addition to the puppets and my other alterations, I made Spider's skirt from scratch, and helped with quickchanges backstage!

I am so incredibly happy that I had the opportunity to be involved with this production!  I learned so much, and I had a lot of fun.

Legally Blonde Jr: Costume Assistant (Firebird Theater 2024)

Most of what I did for Legally Blonde was alterations and fittings.  I worked under Julie again for this production.  Many of the costumes were brought in from the actor's homes, which was convenient since we only had two weeks to complete the costumes!

The most exciting thing that I did for this production was Elle's tearaway wedding dress!  The director donated a beautiful dress for this show, and my job was to take it in and make sure that the audience wouldn't be able to tell that another dress was under it.  I'm so incredibly happy with how it turned out!

I also helped with quickchanges backstage.

101 Dalmatians Kids: Costumes (Firebird Theater 2025)

This was the first production I co-designed!  I worked with Lila Deery on this show, and I did almost all of the alterations and making involved.  

In addition to altering many of the pieces worn in the show (including the poodle skirts, scottie kilts, and Cruella's dress, along with many of the townspeople costumes), I also designed and painted the Kanine Krunchies boxes!  I made the poodle ears, and attatched the ears to the corgi hats.  I also helped with quickchanges backstage!

The theater had done 101 Dalmatians in the past, so we got to reuse the dalmatian shirts and ears from the previous costumer!  

I am so glad I got to work on this production, it was a lot of fun and I feel like being in a more leadership position helped me learn a lot about the logistics of costuming a children's production!

The Music Man Jr: Costume Team (Firebird Theater 2025)

I was primarily on alterations and repairs for this show, and worked with Janet Hoel (the main costumer) and Lila Deery (another member of the costume team).  

In the image on the right I shortened the sleeves of the leftmost jacket, added velcro to the cummerbund of the actress that is second from the left (and did the same to another similar cummerbund of hers), shortened Harold Hill's pants, and took in the pants of the actress that is second from the right.  

In the below pictures, I replaced the zipper of the blue dress, added velcro to the coral and turquoise top, and shortened and repaired a split seam in the grey tailcoat.  Not pictured here are three other shortened pairs of pants, two more jackets with shortened sleeves, and two skirts that I took in.

I'm very glad I could help with alterations on this production!  Each actor had at least three costumes, and all of them were children, so there were plenty of alterations that needed to happen.

Willy Wonka Jr: Costumes (Firebird Theater 2025)

I co-costumed this production with Evie Sullivan.  We collaborated on the design process, and then I focused on making sure alterations were complete while she pulled kids to try on costumes.  

The things I'm most proud of with this production would have to be the Mike TV puppet from when he shrinks, and the coat and hat I embellished for Wonka!  

For the puppet, I used a cup and a ball of tape for the base, using my masking tape taxidermy technique that I had done before on James.  I made sure to color match the plaid of his shirt to his actual shirt, and I used twine and cardboard tubing to articulate his arms!

For Wonka's coat and hat, I pleated a whole bunch of gold metallic ribbon to mimic gold foil candy packaging!  For the candy itself, I made the pieces out of white cardboard colored with markers, and handsewed them on.  We weren't allowed to make many permanent alterations, so I had to make sure everything that I did was 100% reversible!

I also made 16 squirrel tails for Veruca's "I Want It Now" scene!  I made a pattern, then used it to cut out cardboard cores and faux fur to go on the outsides.  I hot glued the fabric to the cardboard, then sewed the tails onto vests that had been used for a previous production.  I think they ended up looking absolutely adorable!

In addition to what I made from scratch and embellished, I did a lot of alterations on the kids' townspeople costumes!  Most of the costumes the theater had in storage were in adult sizes, so there was a lot of taking in to be done.  I also helped with quickchanges backstage!