What makes a character human? What happens when clothing is more than just articles following the shape of a body? My work seeks to explore humanity through abstraction, movement, exaggeration, and fantastical elements. Costumes that move, change, or interact in new ways with actor movement are a particular interest of mine, as is playing with abstract and nonhuman silhouettes and forms that seem fantastical to a modern-day audience.

The clothes on one’s body dictate the attitude of not only the audience, but the actor. An actor in sync with their costume will mesmerize; it becomes easy to forget that human and costume are not one and the same. (Or are they? For the moment, on the stage, elements that flow, that move, that change the form to that of another, all become extensions of the actor – part of the human experience, no matter how fantastical.) A cape swooshed in anger turns a character into a sweeping line of emotion; a tail that moves even slightly with its owner’s gait pulls them and their audience into the realm of the more-than-human.

I’m an engineer-turned-costume-designer who uses the problem-solving, spatial, and structural design skills learned in my past to take costuming into the future. I utilize unusual shapes, materials, and movements to create a unique experience for actor and audience alike. A body is a canvas, and I like to draw outside the lines.