I've been interested in visual art my entire life, developing an interest in art history after some nudging by kind teachers in elementary school. I became fascinated with theater around this time, and was cast in a local theater's production of The King and I. In middle school, I fell into the world of youth robotics which put me on the path towards the STEM fields. Encouraged by a consistently successful track record, making it to the state competition 4 years straight, I applied to Forest Park High School's IT Program where I studied javascript and computer networking, studying for a Cisco A+ certification. By graduation I was awarded the school's IT Silver Award for my time spent restoring computers retired from other schools in the county to redistribute to students in need. Despite this, I realized that I simply couldn't keep up with my peers in the IT program. I returned to my arts and humanities roots.
I chose to escape the rigor and competition of the IT department by getting sucked into the rigor and competition of the music department. I started playing cello in elementary school, but I didn't get serious about it until high school. I maintained first stand status for my entire time in orchestra, and was seriously considering pursuing a degree in music before falling back in love with theater. I also got involved in the other kind of musical theater : marching band, specifically indoor drumline. I played in the front ensemble (vibraphone and marimba) which gave me the outlet to use my dormant visual art skills to make props that helped convey the tone of our shows. There are incredibly innovative things happening in the marching arts in terms of show design, and it's a theatrical space I still have a great interest in working in.
After stepping into my first real design positions as the primary set designer for our 2018 and 2019 musicals, I felt like I had finally found my niche. Theatrical design allows me to combine the technical drafting skills I developed in robotics with the artistic expression I developed an affinity for as a young kid. I applied and was accepted to the George Mason University School of Theater in March of 2020, and shortly thereafter was shut off from all of the artistic outlets I had invested myself so deeply in. I don't think that this was an easy time for anyone, but the sudden inability to perform and create art for projects I was passionate about hit me particularly hard. I turned to inward, to the things that I could work on at home. I painted a lot during this time, and I also taught myself how to sew. Blessed with a closet full of unused bedsheets and endless time to spend on meticulously hand sewing garment shaped objects (I hesitate to use the word 'clothes' at this point), I had unknowingly planted the seeds for what will eventually become my primary discipline.
Eventually, the impracticality of hand sewing all of my projects finally set in, and I was extremely lucky to pick up a vintage 1968 Opus 181 sewing machine for free from a neighbor's yard. Restoring and refurbishing it gave me a good working knowledge of how to successfully negotiate with sewing machines and sewing machine repair has been a special interest of mine ever since. I would not consider myself a professional by any means, but at this point I've repaired about a dozen machines for friends or clients. While learning to sew certainly sparked an interest in costume design, I didn't have the technical knowledge to confidently step into a costume design position. At the time, I was all in on scenic design. My first year at Mason included very little theater, but in 2022 I worked on my first show at Mason as the Assistant Scenic Designer for Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice". In 2023 I was asked to design a devised children's show Mason was producing - "The Night Knights", directed by Mimsi Janis.
At this point, I had been working as the captain of the Sewing and Textiles section at the Mason Innovation Exchange (George Mason's makerspace at the Fairfax Campus) for a year and a half. I was responsible for developing and teaching the curriculum for classes introductory sewing, using the embroidery machines, digitizing images for the embroidery machine, as well as helping to teach skills in other sections such as 3D printing and 3D modeling, woodworking, soldering, and bookbinding. Encouraged by the atmosphere of possibility that we cultivated at the space, I took on projects I never would have considered before. I never would have thought that I'd be able to turn a 1910 Singer Model 15 into a DIY embroidery machine, and I still haven't, but it is a long term project of mine. While many, many projects remain unrealized, the opportunity and exposure to the skills and techniques that I learned there is invaluable. Teaching twice-weekly sewing classes solidified my own foundational sewing skills, and unlocked a passion for teaching and mentoring others.
With a much better technical grasp of costume construction under my belt, I took my first costume design position in 2023 for the semi-devised show "fallen" directed by Theresa Ohanian. I took Spring 2024 as a gap semester to work on myself and plumbing in my bathroom. During this time, I joined a local shadow cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show to help them with costumes. I found the intensive research to make screen accurate replicas of costumes from the 1975 movie incredibly rewarding work, and it has unlocked a consistent source of independent commissions that are constantly pushing my skills to the limit.
I returned to Mason in Fall 2024 as an intern at the costume shop. After years of wading through sewing on my own, working in a professional sewing environment was like traipsing into the deep end of the pool because you couldn't see where the shallows drop off. I'd been building up my skills, but I learned techniques I didn't even know to ask about when I started working there. In the interest of trying to understand costume design from as many angles as possible, I worked on the wardrobe crew for the 2024 production of "110 In The Shade" (dir. Erin Gardiner) I was then asked to work on the spring production of "The Tempest" , directed by Rick Davis, dean of the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. The high tech concept of this show was the perfect setting to merge my technical construction skills with my passion for conceptual design.
With the diverse a skillset I've cultivated I feel that I've truly found my niche in theatrical design. Costume design is my primary interest, and I'm most excited for opportunities that allow me to use my technical skillset to produce stand out designs. I've come a long way, but I know that I have even farther to go. I want to enjoy the artistic journey, while looking forward to an eventual destination of a career in design.
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