Ella Kitchens, Asst. News Editor–

Amelia Christopher ‘28 always had a passion for sewing and costume design. So when the opportunity presented itself, Christopher decided to apply for a job at the Denison department of theatre’s costume shop.

“I was not intending to get an on-campus job; I thought, first semester, that would be super stressful,” Christopher said.

Christopher is from St. Louis. She applied to work in the costume shop when she saw the job posted on Handshake, a site that connects students to job opportunities. 

As a cinema major, Christopher is involved in the arts in more than one way, and her interest started at a young age.

Christopher’s grandmother taught her and her sister how to sew, and they would sew stuffed animals together. As a high schooler, she took a fashion construction class, increasing her interest in the fiber arts. 

“During my freshman year of high school, my grandma passed away and then it was like, ‘Oh I get to carry on this thing that she did,’” Christopher said. “She [sewed], and now I can [sew], and then there’s the bonus of, like, I get my own clothes.”

Christopher’s roommate, Geneva Boss ‘28, said she is always working on a project sewing or crocheting.

“I’ll come back to the dorm and there’ll be a pattern on the ground that she’s using and cutting out,” said Boss. “It’s really impressive to watch her go through the creative process.”

At Denison’s costume shop, Christopher’s work depends on what shows are happening. 

“A lot of times it’s labeling stuff that we already had or putting stuff back that we already had,” Christopher said. “Fixing little things, adding. I do lots of buttons and snaps and I really like adding trims.”

“There was this green jacket with gold trim that I had to hand-stitch on the trim, which was really fun,” Christopher said, referring to a bigger project she and her team completed. “I think everyone in the shop worked on that because there were so many little tiny trim pieces to all hand sew.”

Working in the Eisner costume shop has provided Amelia with the opportunity to work with Camille Lerner, the Theatrical Designer at Denison who specializes in costume design. She makes decisions about what each character wears in every production before delegating students to make each costume. 

“[Costume shop employees are] involved in fittings with the actors as well as students who are in the production. They are very involved in the whole process,” Lerner said.

Lerner emphasized the importance of the costume shop employing students.

“This way they can get experience building clothing from scratch, which is a really cool skill for them to have,” she said.

In addition to the costume shop employing students interested in fashion, it also employs many students who are interested in theater.

“Everybody kind of comes from a somewhat creative background,” Christopher said. “A lot of people are actually in the theater productions too. So they’ll help out from being in those, which is cool.”

Christopher expressed enjoyment watching every costume come together, as this is one of her favorite parts of cinema and the arts in general.

“There’s this bigger-than-yourself thing that’s happening, and you get to entertain people,” said Christopher.