Alumna Breathes ‘Real Life’ Into Costumes for UMW Theatre’s New ‘John Proctor’ Show

A single garment, recently dyed, rattled around in the dryer. A sewing machine hummed, its needle stabbing into the waistline of a pair of pants. The University of Mary Washington’s costume shop was in full swing this week, as student workers – and a special guest alumna – prepared for a new production by the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Brooklyn-based costume designer Alicia Austin ’16, whose talent has contributed to shows like the smash Hulu hit Only Murders in the Building, came back to campus to dress cast members of UMW’s John Proctor is the Villain. Set to kick off tomorrow, with a special pay-what-you-can performance tonight, the play reinterprets the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible and features the kind of gritty, true-to-life wardrobes Austin has come to adore.

“With shows like this, it’s about breathing real life into them,” she said of John Proctor, which examines the coming-of-age thoughts of highschoolers in a small Georgia town. “Those clothes [most of which she snagged from Goodwill] have been lived in. You can tell they’ve got a story behind them.”

So does Austin, who enrolled at Mary Washington to study psychology. It came into play, she recalled, in a costume design course taught by Associate Professor of Theatre Kevin McCluskey. “I loved figuring out what kind of people the characters were and how we could use clothing as a language,” Austin said of the class that changed her college trajectory. “I was hooked.”

Alicia Austin works with UMW junior Claire Schultz, a theatre major also interested in costume design. Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce.

Alicia Austin works with UMW sophomore Kate Rutherford, a Department of Theatre and Dance shop assistant who is majoring in history and classics. Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce.

She switched her major to theatre and, after graduation, left behind Forage, the Fredericksburg consignment shop she’d co-founded, to study costume design at Yale. There, she worked on a series of lavish Shakespearean plays. But, by 2020, when she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree, Covid-19 had wreaked havoc on the performing arts.

Television and film sprang back much sooner than theatre, and Austin found herself working on a new streaming TV show. “You take any opportunity you get,” she said of the now Emmy Award-winning Only Murders, expected to release its fifth season this summer. “You never know what will be the next big thing.”

By now, her résumé brims with big things, like the Peacock series Bupkis starring Pete Davidson; the comedic feature film Babes, released last May; and theatrical productions in the Big Apple and beyond. Plus, she teaches costume design at New York’s Skidmore College.

Austin designed costumes for ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ at Northern Stage in Vermont. Photo by Mark Washburn.

Austin designed costumes for ‘Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally’ for Baltimore Center Stage.

Austin designed costumes for ‘Bakkhai’ at Yale Cabaret.

Austin designed costumes for ‘The Tempest’ at the Yale School of Drama.

“A critical component of our program is connecting our students with professional guest artists,” said Department of Theatre and Dance Chair Gregg Stull, who directs the show. “When we can bring an alum on campus, that’s a bonus. This helps our students realize that the gap between graduating from our program and finding success is achievable.”

Austin fuels her success through research. She mines scripts for details, analyzes characters and works closely with directors to find or design costumes with “a hyper realistic aesthetic.”

Senior Ariana Adamek ’25 plays Nell Shaw in UMW’s production of ‘John Proctor is the Villain.’ Photo by Geoff Greene.

Senior Nikki Rizzo ’25 plays Ivy Watkins in UMW’s production of ‘John Proctor is the Villain.’ Photo by Geoff Greene.

Sophomore Henry Zeigler plays Lee Turner in UMW’s production of ‘John Proctor is the Villain.’ Photo by Geoff Greene.

First-year UMW student Jonah Hilbert (front of room) plays Carter Smith in Mary Washington Theatre’s production of ‘John Proctor is the Villain.’ Photo by Geoff Greene.

From left to right: Senior Cora Denny, first-year student Jonah Hilbert, senior Ariana Adamek, senior Nikki Rizzo, senior Rachel Piotrowski and senior Emma Magner perform during dress rehearsals for ‘John Proctor is the Villain.’ Photo by Geoff Greene.

For UMW’s production of John Proctor, set in a rural town near Atlanta, she mapped out high schools in similar locales and accessed their yearbooks from 2018, the year the story takes place. “Every character in the show was in those yearbooks,” said Austin, who doled out the trends. Nell, played by senior Ariana Adamek, got defined eyebrows. Ivy, played by senior Nikki Rizzo, got a Baby-G watch.

Ahead of a Monday night dress rehearsal with professional photos, Austin delivered a laundry list of last-minute alterations. Shorten the sleeves of a cardigan sweater. Sew a snap on a dress. And if someone could wipe their greasy hands on this hoodie, that would be great, she said.

Anything to make the costumes more realistic.

Sophomore Henry Zeigler plays Lee Turner and senior Emma Magner plays in John Proctor is the Villain. Photo by Geoff Greene.

From left to right: UMW seniors Rachel Piotrowski, Nikki Rizzo and Ariana Adamek perform during dress rehearsals for ‘John Proctor is the Villain.’ Photo by Geoff Greene.

“I like that theatre affords the time to really get to know the characters in the story,” said Austin, who still also clings to her first Mary Washington major. “It’s the psychology that keeps me coming back for every single production.”

UMW Theatre’s production of “John Proctor is the Villain” runs from Thursday, Feb. 6, through Sunday, Feb. 16, in Klein Theatre. For further information and to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit www.FredTix.com.

Read more about Alicia Austin ’16 and her success story, including costume design work showcased on Hulu and HBO, in a UMW news article published in August 2022.