Meagan Beattie (Costume Design) (She/Her) believes in art that invites community, oozes infinite desires, and moves language through and around our bodies. She spent her childhood outside of Chicago and earned her BA in Theatre Design and Production at Columbia College Chicago. Her career as a costume professional in the Chicago region led to designing costumes for independent and community theatre companies and assisting at leading regional theatres. Now a Third Year Costume Design MFA candidate in the Live Design and Production Graduate Program at The University of Texas at Austin, her scholarship questions how our embodied experiences inform the design and investigate the dynamic relationship between designer and narrative. An element of her approach to costume design is an acknowledgment of herself as an outsider to a narrative. Each piece encountered is an entryway into an intimate experience and worldview. How pathways are found toward understanding these experiences and navigating communities, histories, and identities with care and authenticity is what excites her about costume design. This approach nourishes the creative spirit, broadening the possibilities of engaging with the performer/body, the ritual, and the story beyond the framework of prevailing theatre practices.
With over a decade of costume design experience in live production and film, she considers costume design as a curious practice – a convergence of history, anthropology, storytelling, and poetry. She views her artistry as one practice of crafting a visual language that connects the characters and audience to a profoundly dynamic network of history and meaning.
With over a decade of costume design experience in live production and film, she considers costume design as a curious practice – a convergence of history, anthropology, storytelling, and poetry. She views her artistry as one practice of crafting a visual language that connects the characters and audience to a profoundly dynamic network of history and meaning.
