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A large space is filled with with many booths displaying a wide range of examples of student theatre production work.

Theatre Design & Production Portfolios Shine at the 2025 Annual Exhibition

Mar 31, 2025 | News, Students, Theatre & Drama

As part of SMTD’s BFA in design & production curriculum, students display their work in an annual portfolio review, with faculty and guests reviewing their work and offering comments. The portfolios feature examples from coursework as well as hands-on production experiences in theatre, musical theatre, opera, and dance, including conceptual drawings and models, stage management materials, costumes, props, sets, lighting designs and more. The 2025 Design & Production Portfolio Exhibition was open to the public from January 24 to February 7 at the Duderstadt Center Gallery on North Campus.

The 2025 exhibition was highlighted in an article by The Michigan Daily, as well as in an article in Pulp published by the Ann Arbor District Library. Both publications shared student background stories and reflections on their work, as well as quotes from the head of the program, Christianne Myers, Claribel Baird Halstead Collegiate Professor of Theatre & Drama. Through their portfolio presentations, students articulate their decision-making and the evolution of their design process. As explained in the Pulp article by author Davi Napoleon:

Students show the research they do for projects as well as early drafts of what may be very different final products. “We emphasize the importance of process. Students talk about why something changed. It demonstrates flexibility and collaboration,” says Myers, noting that what comes up in a fitting room or dress rehearsal may significantly alter the look of a costume. The same is true for scenic and lighting projects. The idea isn’t to begin with a beautiful, finished rendering but an idea that’s subject to change.

Students’ growth as theatre artists and collaborators is at the heart of the annual portfolio exhibition – as well as a celebration of the often-underappreciated skills and leadership required in design and production work.

SMTD is proud to announce the students showcased in the 2025 exhibition, along with snapshots from their displays:

Sammer Ali

Costume Designer | Class of 2027

Eliza Anker

Lighting Designer | Class of 2027

Justin Comini

Stage Manager | Class of 2027 | Website

Dallas Bellamy Fadul

Props Fabrication | Class of 2025

Ethan Hoffman

Lighting Design | Class of 2026

Shelby R. Holloway

Stage Management / Lighting Design | Class of 2027

Esther Hwang

Stage Manager / Production Manager | Class of 2026

Rachael Hymowitz

Costume Design & Construction | Class of 2025

Aspen Kinomoto

Costume Designer | Class of 2026

Lucy Knas

Costumes & Props | Class of 2026

Elianna Kruskal

Lighting Designer / Programmer | Class of 2025 | Website

Katie Kutzko

Stage Manager | Class of 2026

Talia Lev

Scenic Designer & Digital Artist | Class of 2026

Alex Li

Artisan & Designer | Class of 2025

Maya Liu

Stage Manager | Class of 2026

Yuchen Ma

Scenic Design | Class of 2027

Rachel Pfeil

Costumes | Class of 2027

Esmay Pricejones

Stage Manager | Class of 2025

Lindsay Robert

Stage Management | Class of 2027

Ceri Roberts

Scenic Designer | Class of 2027

Kayti Sanchez

Costume Design & Construction | Class of 2026

Lottie Stallings

Stage Manager / Arts Administrator | Class of 2025

Kathleen Stanton-Sharpless

Stage Manager | Class of 2026

Lauren Streng

Scenic Designer | Class of 2026

Ellie Van Engen

Costume Designer | Class of 2026 | Website

Ellie Vice

Scenic Paint | Class of 2025 | Website

Amber Walters

Multidisciplinary Artist / Stage Manager | Class of 2026

Frannie Walton

Stage Manager | Class of 2026

Summer Wasung

Costume Designer | Class of 2025

William Webster

Lighting Design | Class of 2025 | Website

Chloe Yoo

Stage Manager | Class of 2027

Tate Zeleznik

Theatre Artist | Class of 2027 | Website

Gabriela Ribeiro Znamensky

Lighting Design and Production | Class of 2025

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