I graduated as a Theatre Designer from the Slade School of Fine Art in 1988, then in 2005, after 17 years working in the theatre industry I joined the Arts University Bournemouth as a lecturer, becoming Course Leader for BA (Hons) Costume and Performance Design (2009-2020).
I now share the leadership of the Graduate School and work as a tutor on the MA Historical Costume course at AUB as an Associate Professor in Costume Practice.
I now share the leadership of the Graduate School with responsibility for Academic provision, and work as a tutor on the MA Historical Costume course at Arts University Bournemouth as an Associate Professor in costume practice.
I authored The Costume Supervisor’s Toolkit: Supervising Theatre Costume Production from First Meeting to Final Performance.(Routledge, 2018) ISBN: 9781138182585 - a valuable text book that was reviewed in Studies in Costume & Performance Vol 5, No. 2 by Corinne Heskett (2021, p. 281) and described as '...an insightful analysis of the role of the theatrical costume supervisor, which will become as indispensable tool for costume students and would-be costume supervisors around the world.' I am about to submit the second edition of this title with a projected publication in late 2025.
I curated the Drawing Theatre: Pamela Howard installation in 2016 in The Gallery (2016), creating an illustrated journal for the event that was later exhibited (and short-listed) at PQ19 as part of the ‘The Best Performance Design & Scenography Publication Exhibition.’
Publications:
I am now studying for a Doctorate in Education and my primary research question is to examine the costume fitting process within an auto-ethnographic framework from the position of Costume designer, supervisor and maker, under the title of Intimate scenography. In June 2023 I spoke on the subject of Bodies and Knowledge: Futuring costume pedagogy at the Prague Quadrennial 2023, debating and communicating my research to a wider audience.
Prior to this, my primary research focus has been developing research into effective teaching methodologies for designers and costume supervisors. This work formed the body of my PGCE thesis on the idea of developing ‘Designer thinking’ amongst student scenographers. I have also created work that examines ‘Drawing as practice’. In 2015 I co-curated an exhibition (between BA Costume and Performance design, BA Fashion and BA Textiles), entitled A Stitch in Line that examined stitch as a medium for creating art. This exhibition was sited within The Gallery at AUB.