College Light Opera Company

Costume Designer

Returning for a second season of CLOC was such an exciting and valuable experience. Because I already understood the schedule and flow of the company, I was able to set a pace for the costume
department where we delivered exactly what was needed for all nine of the shows during the eleven-week season.
With a diverse and exciting roster of shows for the 2025 season, my team and I had our work cut out for us. There was a large mix of classics and modern shows, and even a regional premiere. We drew
from the company’s large stock of costumes, but we also created new costumes or modified pieces to have exciting, eye-catching costumes for up to 40 actors in all nine shows. I had the opportunity to
work with a large variety of Actors, Crew members, Designers, and Director with a wide range of experiences.
Our productions, and the costumes they included, received multiple kudos from local Theatre critic throughout the season. I feel so lucky and humbled to have had this experience with CLOC for two
wonderful summers.

Pirates

The Sound of Music

The Pirates of Penzance

Pirates of Penzance was the first show of the season. Directed by James Mills, Artistic Director with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players and long-time director at CLOC. I got a detailed, inside view of the style of G & S shows. James’ background with G & S shows and his history with CLOC provided a wonderful start to the summer’s productions
I personally draped and stitched the light blue and lace dress for the lead character, Mabel, and planned and attached the embellishments for The Pirate King himself. I also experimented with wig styling to create just the right look for The Pirate King's long and decorated wig.

Michele Markarian, a critic for Theatre Mirror and Deborah G Scanlon of the Cape Cod News both wrote very favorable reviews of the costuming for this specular first show of the year. (see links below)

The Theatre Mirror

Cape Cod News

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Stage Direction by James Mills @jameseynyc. Lighting Design by Sam Terrell @samterrellnyc

Music Direction by Alex Gutierrez @alexgutierrez13 Scenic Design by Emmaline Naud @emmaline27

Stage Management by Anna Waldstein-Torres Costume Design by Shelby Allred @Shelbystitches87

Choreography by Liv Swanson @liv_swanson Technical Direction by Holden Whalen @nelahwh

Props Artist by Nahria Cassell Assistant Costume Design by Morgan Hunter @morganlikessoup

Scenic and Run Crew: Lindsey Burgos @lindsey.burgos, Emily Chambers @hella_ems, Alonna Hall @and_alonna, Jeremy Hartman-Chait @jbwhc12

Costume/Wardrobe Crew: Drew Romero @rafikiisaboss, Jessica Spengler @basiclyallkindsoftrash, Caitlin Trobridge @caitlin_trobridge

Production Manager & Head of Design and Production: Anthony Migliori @anthonymigli

Photos by Alexandra Tsourides @ahtsart, Sam Terrell @stnycphoto

On The Town

On The Town was a surprise cast and crew favorite during the season. Because of its timing in the season, it received substantially more attention than most of the shows, and we needed every minute that was available. With over 1000 costume

pieces, and up to 7 different looks for some of the actors, the costume shop had to pull together to get everything done. While I was able to select many costumes from our stock, my team and I had to create lots of specialized pieces. I personally
draped and stitched the black and pink dress leotard and did the ribbon stitching on the tan leotard for Ivy Smith, the lead character. I also patterning multiple other costume pieces.

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Stage Direction by Caitlin Belcik @cebelcik Lighting Design by Sam Terrell @samterrellnyc

Music Direction by Miles Plant Scenic Design by Emmaline Naud @emmaline27

Stage Management by Sage Ayelet Brown Costume Design by Shelby Allred @Shelbystitches87

Choreography by Liv Swanson @liv_swanson Technical Direction by Holden Whalen @nelahwh

Props Artist by Nahria Cassell Assistant Costume Design by Morgan Hunter @morganlikessoup

Scenic and Run Crew: Lindsey Burgos @lindsey.burgos, Emily Chambers @hella_ems, Alonna Hall @and_alonna, Jeremy Hartman-Chait @jbwhc12

Costume/Wardrobe Crew: Drew Romero @rafikiisaboss, Jessica Spengler @basiclyallkindsoftrash, Caitlin Trobridge @caitlin_trobridge

Production Manager & Head of Design and Production: Anthony Migliori @anthonymigli

Photos by Alexandra Tsourides @ahtsart, Sam Terrell @stnycphoto

Guys and Dolls

Going into this season, I was very excited to be doing Guys and Dolls. It was the first musical I did in high school, and it was such a fun nostalgic experience for me. I wanted to capture the love that I have for the show, while also creating something new for myself and the audience.

With the show being such a classic, deciding which things to make new and which ones to keep with tradition was an interesting challenge. The show itself has lots of stipulations and requirements from the script. With as many specialized looks as
this show has, there were 11 separate costumes we had to make from scratch, and I patterned 6 of them.

As a design/costume team, we wanted to create a bolder storytelling look by utilizing strong colors and patterns, but we also had to stay within the time and budget available. We ended up with beautiful costumes to support a wonderful show.

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Stage Direction by Marcus Allen Jordan @marcusajordan Lighting Design by Sam Terrell @samterrellnyc

Music Direction by Chase Anderson @chase1133 Scenic Design by Emmaline Naud @emmaline27

Stage Management by Anna Waldstein-Torres Costume Design by Shelby Allred @Shelbystitches87

Choreography by Liv Swanson @liv_swanson Technical Direction by Holden Whalen @nelahwh

Props Artist by Nahria Cassell Assistant Costume Design by Morgan Hunter @morganlikessoup

Scenic and Run Crew: Lindsey Burgos @lindsey.burgos, Emily Chambers @hella_ems, Alonna Hall @and_alonna, Jeremy Hartman-Chait @jbwhc12

Costume/Wardrobe Crew: Drew Romero @rafikiisaboss, Jessica Spengler @basiclyallkindsoftrash, Caitlin Trobridge @caitlin_trobridge

Production Manager & Head of Design and Production: Anthony Migliori @anthonymigli

Photos by Alexandra Tsourides @ahtsart, Sam Terrell @stnycphoto

Anastasia

Anastasia was such an exciting and fun show to work on. Having grown up watching the movie, being able to make it come to life on stage was so fulfilling for me.

The settings for the show had a large influence on the costumes. Being able to show the evolving social and economic situations of the characters helped immerse the audience in the action as they saw the standing of our characters progress throughout the story.

Here is what critics had to say: "Costume designer Shelby Allred’s work deserves special mention. The costumes are detailed and period-appropriate but also are reminiscent of the film. As the show transitions from Russia to France, the wardrobe reflects the changing world around the characters—no small task given their constant movement across both time and geography."- Ashley Ryan and Saaya Daga, The Falmouth Enterprise

The Enterprise

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Stage Direction by Caitlin Belcik @cebelcik Lighting Design by Sam Terrell @samterrellnyc

Music Direction by Beth Burrier Scenic Design by Emmaline Naud @emmaline27

Stage Management by Sage Ayelet Brown @sageayelet Costume Design by Shelby Allred @Shelbystitches87

Choreography by Liv Swanson @liv_swanson Technical Direction by Holden Whalen @nelahwh

Props Artist by Nahria Cassell Assistant Costume Design by Morgan Hunter @morganlikessoup

Scenic and Run Crew: Lindsey Burgos @lindsey.burgos, Emily Chambers @hella_ems, Alonna Hall @and_alonna, Jeremy Hartman-Chait @jbwhc12

Costume/Wardrobe Crew: Drew Romero @rafikiisaboss, Jessica Spengler @basiclyallkindsoftrash, Caitlin Trobridge @caitlin_trobridge

Production Manager & Head of Design and Production: Anthony Migliori @anthonymigli

Photos by Alexandra Tsourides @ahtsart, Sam Terrell @stnycphoto

Ruddigore

Ruddigore was a long-anticipated show within the company this season. This show is a large production with many specialized technical requirements throughout. Because of that, work started before the season began. Costuming posed a particular challenge because all the female ensemble needed to be in
identical dresses, and the male ensemble during the second act were all ghosts from times ranging from the 1300's to the 1800's.
We started accruing ghost costumes in the beginning of the season so the scenic artist would have enough time to create life size portraits for some ghosts to come through.

Another local arts critic said: ";A nod also goes to the costume designer, Shelby Allred. The attire was perfect." - Laura Gross-Higgins, Cape Cod News / The Enterprise

The Enterprise

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Stage Direction by James Mills @jameseynyc. Lighting Design by Sam Terrell @samterrellnyc

Music Direction by Elizabeth Hastings. Scenic Design by Emmaline Naud @emmaline27

Stage Management by Anna Waldstein-Torres Costume Design by Shelby Allred @Shelbystitches87

Choreography by Liv Swanson @liv_swanson Technical Direction by Holden Whalen @nelahwh

Props Artist by Nahria Cassell Assistant Costume Design by Morgan Hunter @morganlikessoup

Scenic and Run Crew: Lindsey Burgos @lindsey.burgos, Emily Chambers @hella_ems, Alonna Hall @and_alonna, Jeremy Hartman-Chait @jbwhc12

Costume/Wardrobe Crew: Drew Romero @rafikiisaboss, Jessica Spengler @basiclyallkindsoftrash, Caitlin Trobridge @caitlin_trobridge

Production Manager & Head of Design and Production: Anthony Migliori @anthonymigli

Photos by Alexandra Tsourides @ahtsart, Sam Terrell @stnycphoto

Sound of Music

The Sound of Music is a show where many audience members come to the theatre knowing and expecting a specific look. I wanted to stay true to the audience expectations but also create a new and enjoyable visual.

The classic curtain outfits were a full shop project! Each person on our team made 1-3 costumes out of a bold, difficult-to-work-with fabric. In this way, we all had a hand in creating a new, iconic look.

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Stage Direction by Alison Morooney @alisonmorooney Lighting Design by Sam Terrell @samterrellnyc