Costume Research
For the last decade, I have been conducting research into costume practice, with a particular focus on the interpersonal dynamics of collaboration, contemporary creative practice and design realisation. I am available to consult and co-manage projects on costume and live performance research and welcome industry partners to get in touch.
Costume Supervision/ Coordination
As a freelance costume supervisor, I have worked on a range of independent and mainstage productions in theatre, dance and entertainment, and am in demand for my extensive experience and broad range of skills. For most of the works I have supervised I have also worked as a costume cutter and maker. I excel at managing budgets and production schedules, delivering to deadlines and interpreting a design. Recent productions I have supervised include I Just Came to Say Goodbye – The Good Room / Brisbane Festival (2017), a physical piece of verbatim theatre exploring forgiveness and guilt; The Tragedy of Richard III for La Boite Theatre (2016), a visceral work of meta-theatre that required me to negotiate blood, mud, rain, ink and child performers; and Prehistoric, a play about Brisbane’s punk scene and politics in the late 1970s, which had two seasons in Brisbane and then toured to Melbourne.
Designer
Recent credits include Roving character and Dance ensemble costume design for ARCADIA (Brisbane Festival 2016), Designer (set and costume) for Prehistoric (Elbow Room and Metro Arts, 2013, 2014), Design Assistant for The Rat Trap (Polytoxic Theatre 2012) and Costume Designers for the rock musical Bright Lights, Big City in London (2010).
Costume construction
As a costume cutter and maker, I have worked for all the major performing arts companies in Brisbane. I have made costumes for ballet (Queensland Ballet 2004 – 2008), cut and made costumes for opera (Opera Queensland 2004 – 2005, Brisbane Festival 2009, Griffith Conservatorium 2009, 2011, 2017) and circus (QPAC 2009, Brisbane Powerhouse 2012). My most extensive area of expertise for costume is for theatre, predominantly with Queensland Theatre, with whom I started my costume career in 2003 as costume trainee. For the next 4 years they were my primary employer, and I worked as a freelance costume maker and cutter on an average of 4 productions a year with the company. This included period dramas, pantomimes and contemporary works. While working for them as Head Cutter I was responsible for pattern making and draping for major costumes, as well as providing direction and work for a team of makers.
Dressing/ Wigs/ Maintenance
As a dresser I have worked for large touring musicals (Jersey Boys 2013), arena spectaculars (Boy From Oz 2006, Lifelike Touring 2016), opera (Queensland Opera 2004, Griffith Conservatorium 2009), ballet (Queensland Ballet 2004 - 2007) and theatre (Queensland Theatre 2004 - 2007, Queensland Music Festival 2012, Brisbane Powerhouse 2011 - 2016). I am a proficient wig dresser and can apply SFX makeup for performance. I have dressed on chorus and principle artists and am adept at quick changes, emergency repairs and writing dressing plots. I have experience dressing period costumes and costume maintenance for both short and long seasons.
Millinery
I have completed 2 years of training in millinery and have worked as a milliner for performance since then. Hat-making highlights in my career have been working as Head Milliner for Puss in Boots at Queensland Theatre (2006), a pantomime that required both shaped and sewn headwear, completing millinery for a production of Far Away (Queensland Theatre, 2004) that required over 50 hats, and the hats I made for Jodie Foster to wear in the movie Nim’s Island (Warner Brothers Studios, 2007). I also devised my own technique for making close fitting felt hair caps for Queensland Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol (2005), which the designer loved so much he has used it extensively since.
Props and set construction
I have developed a solid body of work as a soft props maker for works such as Boat (QPAC, 2007) and soft set constructor (Queensland Music Festival 2011, 2015, 2016, Imaginary Theatre 2013, 2015). A particular highlight in this arena was my work for Queensland Theatre for Elizabeth – almost by chance a woman (2012), for which I devised the set construction method to replicate the designers model, and supervised a team of 4 in the making of wings, backdrops and headers that reached 13 meters high, and used 600 meters of fabric.
