College Light Opera Company

Costume Designer

Returning for another season of CLOC was such an exciting and valued experience. Being able to understand the schedule and flow of the company was a huge help when starting this season out.

With the stacked roster of shows for the 2025 season, my team and I had our work cut out for us. While still utilizing the large stock of costumes the company had, there was lot of opportunity to create new and modify pieces for every show. We had a large mix of classics, modern shows, and even a regional premier. I had the opportunity to work with a wide range of Actors, Crew members, Designers, and Directors; All with a wide range of experience.

I was so lucky and humbled to have this experience with CLOC.

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, I was able to get a detailed and inside view of the style of G & S shows. His background with G & S shows and his history with CLOC created a great start to the production for this summer.

I personally draped and stitched the light blue and lace dress for the character Mabel , as well as planning and attaching the embellishments for The Pirate King himself. I was able to experiment with wig styling as well for The Pirate King's long and decorated wig.

With a kudos on the costuming from Michele Markarian (The Theatre Mirror) and Deborah G. Scanlon (Cape Cod News), the season started with much praise.

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 had a substancial amount more time than most of the shows, and it was very much utilized. With over 1000 costume pieces, and up to 7 different looks for some of the actors, the costume shop had our work cut out for us.

While I arranged many costumes from the stock we had, there were lots of specialized pieces that my team and I created. I draped and stitched the black and pink dress leotard and the did the ribbon stitching on the tan leotard for Ivy Smith, as well as 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 that love that I have for the show, while also making it into something new for myself and the audience.

With the show being such a big classic, deciding which things to make new and what to keep with tradition was an interesting challenge. The show itself has lots of stipulations and requirements from the script to work with as well. With as many specialized looks as this show has, There are 11 separate costumes made from scratch, with 5 of them that I patterned.

As a design team, we wanted to jump into that more bold storytelling looks by utilizing strong colors and patterns, but sticking with the shape of the time period.

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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 was so fulfilling for me.

The settings for the show had a large influence on the costumes. Being able to show the social and economical situations of the characters helped immerse the audience and show the progression of our characters standing throughout the story.

"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 awaited show within the company this season. With as large as it is, and the amount of technical requirements throughout, work started before the season did. Costuming for this show is an interesting beast. All of the female ensemble needed to be in identical dresses, and the male ensemble in the second act were all ghosts from times ranging from 1300's-1800's. The accrual for the ghost costumes started in the beginning of the season so that the scenic artist had enough time to create life size portraits for some ghosts to come through.

"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 that many audience members will come to the theatre knowing and expecting a specific look. I wanted to utilize the previous knowledge that audiences would arrive with, but still make it a new and enjoyable visual.

The classic curtain outfits were a full shop project! With all the people in the shop making 1-3 costumes with the fabric, we all got a hand in the creation of that iconic look.

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