Black Boy Therapy!

Costume Design, Stitching, & Wardrobe

Black Boy Therapy! takes us inside the darkly humorous mind of an alive, awkward, Black boy struggling to survive in a white world. We follow his emotions (Sadness, Anger, Fear, Shame, and Surprise) as they embark on a therapeutic journey through his memories to save their leader, Joy, who has gone missing. They must work together to finally unpack and process their trauma, before Joy disappears forever… and they all cease to exist.

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Working on Black Boy Therapy! was a no brainer for me. The crew for this staged reading was a dream team that consisted of either past teammates, or ones that I have always admired. For the first time in a long time, I was working with a director who had a clear vision for what they wanted costumes to look like, but also took my expertise seriously and was always willing to try out my suggestions. I had fun experimenting with prints, color, and accessories in order to represent each character's emotion and which caricatures they were double casted as throughout the show. 

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This was the largest budget I have worked with thus far, allowing me the opportunity to make many pieces from scratch, including the yellow overalls, green dress shirt, red dress shirt, and basketball jerseys. I also got to work with magnets for the first time, using them to rig quick changes that involved attaching light switches or logos to costumes, as well as with wigs. Of course, no show is complete if I haven't dyed something or put someone in a silly hat! Overall, this is one of the productions that I'm most proud of and would love to stage a full production someday.

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Performed April 4-6, 2024.