Who am I? Let’s see…child of God, mom, writer, costumer. I wouldn’t want to spoil the plot of my life for you, so I’ll just give you the back cover copy.
I grew up in Montana, under the influence of two great parents; a brother who daily demonstrated on me the skills that would make him the fine lawyer he is today; the Missoula Children’s Theatre, which brought me out of my shell; and a teacher named Mr. Smart (I’m not making that up) who encouraged my writing. I went to Willamette University in Salem, Oregon to study acting and-thanks to the inspiring head of the wardrobe department-fell in love with costuming. Funny, since I have no fashion sense whatsoever. Maybe I was just born in the wrong era. But I digress….
Moving to Seattle, I launched myself into the adult world with a degree in acting but no desire to live the lifestyle inherent to that profession. Instead, I got a “real job” at a medical research lab (yes, I befriended the mice and the bunnies) and put my heart and soul into acting-and-costuming-for-free. Ah, the energy of youth.
All of that came to a crashing halt when a friend asked why, if I loved costuming so much, I wasn’t doing it for a living. Talk about a revelation. I immediately kissed the corporate world goodbye (not to mention the mice and the bunnies) and started sewing for Seattle Opera. I was in heaven.
Soon after that, I started doing wardrobe for the union theatres in town. I’ve had the joy of working on lots of big Broadway tours and even a few movies. All fodder for my fiction.
Nowadays, when I’m not hunched over the computer and slurping down ridiculous amounts of coffee (hey, I live in Seattle, okay?), you’ll likely find me indulging in an I Love Lucy marathon with my kids, or executing a costume change backstage during a performance of Cats. You just never know.
