Post-College Life Update

Well, dear reader, I certainly didn’t anticipate taking two months away from this journal. Last you heard of me I was rambling about books and getting ready to be insanely busy. The insanely busy part did happen - going to my first professional (and post-pandemic) conference, getting a show on its feet and closing it, and graduating college does keep a girl on her feet! As I sit among the wreckage of my work-space, I’m definitely feeling the effects of running around like a crazy lady for two whole months. So, this journal entry will be another chill one. I’ll be giving an update on how the end of college went, the success that was my first big embroidery project, and the not-so-success of my graduation dress.

All that intro stuff aside, watch this space!! I have big plans for my post-grad life, and while I’m sure some of them will get derailed at some point, I’m so excited to have you with me through it! You will, at least, get some entertaining reading out of it.

Spring Awakening - A Rambling On Show-Biz

This show was the biggest show I’ve done to date. A cast of 24, multiple set changes, a host of challenging topics, onstage dressing and undressing… the list of challenges goes on. I, however, thrive under pressure. This show was beautiful because of the way my team and I worked to support each other through the process. There is a beauty in the way working on a production gives you a pseudo family for the couple of months you’re working. Especially with a show like Spring Awakening that deals with such heavy content, that bond naturally happens. We laugh, we cry, we fight and make up. After a year and a half where doing live theatre felt impossible, do have two shows go up this year reminded me why I do theatre in the first place. It is the best form of story-telling, and is the best way to show and give love.

This was also the last show of my undergrad degree. After four years of struggling and pushing through, it was wonderful to have something go so well. It felt like I found myself as a designer, and I got to do a spot of mentoring as well. My shop kiddos (who maybe resent I call them kiddos) were so massively important to getting this show on its feet. My shop mentors comforted me when I needed it and supported every hare-brained scheme I had. I’m so thankful for my crazy, wonderful shop who put this show together in a month’s time. I’ve done a more scientific write up of this show in the portfolio section of this website, so if you want to see a bit of the behind-the-scenes process it’s there.

Graduation - Cap Success and Dress Musings

I should have known better than to attempt to make a dress during finals week. Needless to say, I did not make my own graduation dress. Dear reader, do forgive me and do look forward to this year’s birthday dress project. For graduation, I wound up wearing a dress from the early 1950s. There is a simple wrap dress that got started during finals week and that I’ll be working on in future. That will likely go up on Instagram before the summer is over.

I was able to start and finish a large embroidery project for my graduation cap. My university’s costume shop has these beautiful stained glass windows in the ceiling, left over from when the building was a stock exchange. One of the panels is a reproduction after the original was damaged, and it took until my very last day to figure out which panel was the fake (I’m not telling you which one though). Well, now there are two reproductions, except the second is one I can wear. I wanted a piece of my shop with me while I graduated. That room has been my home for four years so, and I can’t put into words how sad it made me to leave. I’ll be back, of course, when they ask for me, but for now I’ve got my own stained glass panel with me. The full embroidery project took about a month to complete. It was done on a scrap of silk taffeta from the Walking Suit and stitched with multiple colors of cotton embroidery floss. I feel like I need another complex embroidery project, so do expect some embroidery content in future.

So, the constant question, what will I be doing after college? Today I started work as the assistant costume designer on a local show. I’ll be assisting my mentor, which will be a new experience as I never got the chance while I was at school. From there, I’ve got a couple more gigs, but it’ll be a lot of the same: designing and sewing, with the new addition of paying off my student loans. There are some surprises in store that are rattling around in my brain, so stay tuned for those and watch this space!!

I’ll be posting another journal update this month, which brings us back to a twice-a-month posting schedule. Watch for that, and as always, I’ll see you next time.

Graduating with a BFA in Theatre Production: Design, concentration in Costumes, minor in history, and Magna Cum Laude!

Yours sincerely,

Madeline