Focus on Tailoring, Flat Patterning, Draping, and The History of Dress.
Boston University’s costume production programs encourage students to strengthen their artistic expression, communication, and production skills through hands-on, mentored production experiences within a wide range of theatrical opportunities and classroom instruction.
Through creative collaborations with designers, actors, and directors, students apply both artistic and practical approaches to the creation of costumes in various genres. BU’s costume production programs offer one-on-one mentoring, and hands-on experience using classroom knowledge in the production process. Our faculty honor students’ needs and desire to learn specific areas of theatre practice.
We’ve seen our graduates take their skills and become successful drapers, tailors, first hands, stitchers, wardrobe supervisors, costume shop managers, and more. Where you may ask? Our graduates are working at New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Huntington Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Santa Fe Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and the list goes on. Did we mention our alums have even worked for Cirque du Soleil?!
What makes BU’s costume production programs different?
“It’s not just theoretical. Our students work on productions, including plays, musicals, operas, movement pieces, and so on. Our curriculum is different; it’s a broader curriculum. It covers not only draping but a gamut of tailoring and crafts which other programs may lack. A student will be able to produce in either draping, tailoring, or crafts when they graduate. We also incorporate the history of dress in the production classes. The classes focus on flat-patterning and draping, but you’re also getting the important history component. So students are not just putting numbers together and making patterns.”
-Nancy Leary, BU program head of costume production
Hear from Leary on what it means to be a costume production student at BU in CFA’s Faculty Feature series!
Degrees Offered
Featured Faculty
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Nancy Lynn Leary
Assistant Professor, Costume Design
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Penney Pinette
Costume Shop Manager; Lecturer, Costume Production
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Denise Wallace-Spriggs
Lecturer, Costume Crafts
