Stephen Sondheim, Bernadette Peters, and Kevin Spacey are just some of the big-named stars that have worked with SMU professor Claudia Stephens. She’s worked on costume designs with shows like “Into the Woods,” “Falsettos” and “The Goodbye Girl,” and her work has been featured in several locations including Julliard, Lincoln Center and Dallas Theater Center. This year, Stephens was appointed to the Board of Directors for the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA).
URTA provides high quality theater production for universities with its collection of partnered theater companies and professional, graduate theater training programs. Its goal is to assist graduate theater programs and connect them with other college and regional theaters.
As a member of the Board of Directors, Claudia Stephens says that she will serve on the governing body that sets policies for how the organization moves forward and grows in connecting theater students.
“I’m most looking forward to having the national dialogue about the issues of higher education in the theater and discussing those issues with colleagues,” Stephens said.
Stephens is the associate professor of Design for the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU where she teaches costume design for theater. Her work has been in over 140 productions during her 30 years as a costume designer. She also has done several costumes for dance, and she has been a member of Big Dance Theatre Dance Company since 1995.
Stephens is very passionate about her design work, and she is most fond of her work in opera. In 2008, she designed pieces for “Angels in America” at the Fort Worth Opera.
“I would love to do more opera in the future,” she said. “I love both new and classic. It’s always great having new work in the theater.”
Stephens who is interested in both designing and helping others learn.
“I’m privileged to work with really smart, talented, and hard-working students who are dedicated to theater and opera,” Stephens said. “I love how they are bringing up important issues in various forms of art.”
Stephens will serve three years on the URTA board of directors starting in July.
