About

Maggie Whitaker is a costume designer, performance creator, and artist. She has designed for theatre, film, and video games over the course of her career.  She received her BFA in Theatre Design at the University of South Florida and her MFA in Costume Design at the University of San Diego, California.  In addition to her production work, she created a fully accredited BFA and MFA Costume Design Program for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Ms. Whitaker has written courses for both an online and onsite program that deal with the specific training of costume designers through individual project work as well as collaborations with the School of Acting and the School of Motion Pictures and Television. Her alumni have gone on to fellowships at Santa Fe Opera and American Conservatory Theatre, and can be found working in New York and Los Angeles.

Ms. Whitaker seeks out creative opportunities that facilitate a collaborative working relationship with playwrights and directors in the development of new works and groundbreaking theatre.  She has designed costumes for the world premieres of nationally recognized plays including “HeLa” by Lauren Gunderson and Geetha Reddy at TheatreFirst, “I and You,” by Lauren Gunderson at Marin Theatre, “Truffaldino Says No!” by Ken Slattery at Shotgun Players, and “Wildflowers,” by Lila Rose Kaplan at UCSD.  Her work as a costume designer has been seen at theaters internationally including The Apollo Theatre, Teatro Tinta Roja, Canal Café Theatre, TheatreWorks, Marin Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Magic Theatre, Ray of Light Theatre, Shotgun Players, Crowded Fire Theatre, and Cutting Ball Theatre. In addition to her work on new plays, Ms. Whitaker has designed for classic theatre and opera, including “Merry Wives of Windsor”, “Twelfth Night” and “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare as well as Cosi Fan Tutti, Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Coronation of Poppea, and many more. 

Ms. Whitaker is a recipient of Shotgun Players: Bridging the Gap Grant for 2016, and received a BATCC award for costume design for her work on “Truffaldino Says No!” at Shotgun Players, and for “Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies”at Custom Made Theatre. Her costume designs for Jerry Springer the Opera, Assassins, and Jesus Christ Superstar have all been nominated for awards. She is an Artistic Associate of Ray of Light Theatre and a founding member of Repulsive Women. Ms. Whitaker is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.