October 10, 2025
Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
I was born in a small town, Southam, in Warwickshire England but moved to Columbus, Indiana at the age of 11.Tell us about your undergraduate experience.
I started my undergraduate career at Ball State for Theatre Education but ended up changing my major to Theatre Technology and Design with a double focus in Hair and Makeup and Costume Design. I loved getting to work on large scale shows early in my educational career but found that I was wishing for more time within our season to specialize my skills, which was a big positive of the program at Purdue for me.What brought you to Purdue?
My fiancé is a Freshwater Biologist here at Purdue, so I was living in the area post undergrad and was able to use my Ball State connections to Costume Shop Manager Tony Sirk to get my foot in the door. The biggest plus for me when looking at Purdue for my MFA was the connection to new technology across our campus. As new and scary as it can be to try and learn a new technology and integrate it into the work I do on costumes I knew that it was a path I wanted to explore, and love that Purdue made that possible.What is your field of study in the MFA and why did you choose it?
My MFA field of study is costume design, I have always loved historical fashion to an extreme level (I don’t think many 9-year-olds would’ve shared my opinions on the Tudor period) and through costume design found a way to bring that love and research into the work I do every day. As the designer for Gloria last year, I learned that Modern costumes are just as exciting to me, I love the levels of detail that I am able to give a character through what their wearing, even if at first glance they are just wearing a suit.What are your hopes/dreams/goals upon graduation?
I hope to always be in theatre to some capacity; I grew up in this world and never want to leave it. Post-graduation I would love to get to the place where I am designing for opera or ballet as I love the level of grandeur that is possible.What are some of your favorite recent projects and what makes them your favorites?
This is a really hard question to answer as I become connected with every piece I work on, but answering today I would say my designs for The Snow which opens this November. It is the largest scale that I have created so far and is filled with crazy builds. We have bear capes, a giant bird puppet, a fully built in house look for every actor, and it gave us the opportunity to purchase and integrate a new embroidery machine into our shop. It is huge and crazy, and I cannot wait to see it on stage.Can you describe a dream project or opportunity?
A lot of my larger dreams have been quelled by self-doubts and lack of confidence but as I work on improving every day I find myself looking for them again. I really do dream of being recognized as a designer, of having an award like a Drama Desk one day. Not to be able to say that I have it, but to know that to achieve it I was able to really play in a space and create something great with a costume team, to prove to the girl who is constantly fighting her own opinion of herself that she is not only ok but excelling at this thing she always loved.Can you describe one thing you’ve discovered about Purdue since you started here that you really love?
I have found that I really love that our undergraduate program is a BA rather than the BFA that I experienced at Ball State. Being a BA we are able to have our shows and classes open to any student and the knowledge that each one of them brings with them from their respective majors informs the work we do so much. Every day I am blown away at all the other things our undergraduate students do outside of Pao Hall while still giving their time to be involved with our shows and in our shops.Anything else you want to share about yourself that makes you unique and that you want to celebrate?
I love connecting my designs back to nature and have worked on theoretical designs for The Barber of Seville where every character was a bird to highlight how the opera is all about mating rituals and how to get noticed, much like birds, and The Learned Ladies where every character was an insect to emphasize the territory dispute that is at the heart of the play.