Liz Prince

Undergraduate Disciplines

Theatre Dance

Graduate Program

MFA Theatre Program

A designer of costumes for theatre, dance, and film, Prince's recent work includes designing the set installation and costumes for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s Curriculum l and Curriculum ll. She has designed numerous productions for Bill T. Jones since 1990, including the opera We Shall Not Be Moved, which Jones directed for
Opera Philadelphia with music by Daniel Bernard Roumain and librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Other recent design collaborations include designing multiple works for choreographer and founder of the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance Arthur Avilez’s 2023 and 2024 seasons; she has collaborated with Avilez since 1987. Other past collaborations include designing for Doug Varone’s In The Shelter of the Fold for BAM’s Next Wave Festival and his Half Life, commissioned by the Paul Taylor Company; she has designed numerous works for Varone since 1997. She has also collaborated with Gabriel Barre (director of Pippin at Goodspeed Opera House), Karen Bernard, Jane Comfort, Lenora Champagne, Mark Dendy (Dendy Dance, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Dortmund Theater Ballet), David Dorfman, Irondale Ensemble, Koosil Ja Hwang, Lawrence Goldhuber, Keely Garfield, Mimi Goese, Neil Greenberg, Patricia Hoffbauer, Liz Gerring, Larry Keigwin, Ralph Lemon, Diane Martel (PBS Alive From Off Center), Bebe Miller, Trey McIntyre (ABT, Houston Ballet, Washington Ballet, Pennsylvania
Ballet), Jennifer Munson, Bridgeman/Packer Dance, Aileen Passloff, Pilobolus, Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project, Nancy Savoca’s 2011 film Union Square, George Emilio Sanchez, Stephanie Skura, Meg Stuart, Sekou Sundiata and Fiona Templton, and Zvi Gotheiner. These works have premiered in venues such as Lincoln
Center, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City Center, Berlin Opera, Opernhaus Dortmund, Seattle’s Marion Oliver McCall Hall, Houston’s Wortham Center, The Kennedy Center, Fisher Center at Bard, New York Live Arts, The Joyce Theater, Goodspeed Opera House, La Mama Experimental Theater, The Baryshnikov Arts
Center, Wexner Center for the Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, The Ohio Theater, and The Irondale Theater. Prince’s own performance work has been presented at various venues through New York City, including: Performance Space 122, LaMama, Caroline’s Comedy Club, Steve McGraw’s Supper Club, Dixon Place, 8BC, and King Tut’s Wawa Hut. Her costumes have been exhibited at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art; the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance, Design, and Space; Snug Harbor Cultural Center; and Rockland Center for the Arts. Prince received a 1990 New York Dance and Performance Award (BESSIE) and a 2008 Charles Flint Kellogg Arts and Letters Award from Bard College. She has taught costume design at SUNY Purchase College (2010-2015), Manhattanville College (1999-2018), and appeared as a guest speaker in Costume Design at University of Massachusetts–Amherst, The Ohio State University, and Texas Women’s College. SLC, 2017–

Undergraduate Courses 2023-2024

Theatre

Advanced Costume Conference

Advanced, Component—Year

This course is designed for students who have completed Costume Design l and Costume Design ll and would like to further explore any aspect of designing costumes by researching and realizing a special costume design project of their own choosing.

Faculty

Costume Design I (Section 1)

Open, Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and will cover various concepts and ideas, such as the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design room sewing techniques, as well as the basics of wardrobe technician duties; students will become familiar with all of the various tools and equipment in the costume shop and wardrobe areas. Students will also have the opportunity to assist a Costume Design ll student on a departmental production to further their understanding of the design process when creating costumes. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, choreographers, dancers, and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design I (Section 2)

Open, Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and will cover various concepts and ideas, such as: the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history, and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design room sewing techniques, as well as the basics of wardrobe technician duties; students will become familiar with all of the various tools and equipment in the costume shop and wardrobe areas. Students will also have the opportunity to assist a Costume Design ll student on a departmental production to further their understanding of the design process when creating costumes. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, choreographers, dancers, and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design II

Intermediate, Component—Year

This course expands upon the ideas and concepts set forth in Costume Design l in order to hone and advance the student’s existing skill sets. Students will further develop their design and construction abilities as they research and realize design concepts for a variety of theoretical design projects, as well as develop their communication skills through class discussions and presentations. Students will also have the likely opportunity to design costumes for a departmental production, assisted by a Costume Design l student. This design opportunity allows for a unique learning experience, as the student collaborates with a director and creative team to produce a fully realized theatrical production.

Faculty

Dance

Costume Design for Dance

Component—Year

This course is an introduction to designing costumes for dance/time-based art. The course will emphasize collaborations with a choreographer and include topics such as: The Creative Process of Design; Where to Begin When Designing for Dance; The Language of Clothes; The Elements of Design; Color Theory; Movement and the Functionality of Dance Costumes; Figure Drawing/Rendering Costumes and Fabric Dictionary/Fabric Terminology. The course will also cover learning numerous hand and machine stitches, as well as various design-room techniques such as taking measurements, how to fit and alter costumes, and various wardrobe maintenance techniques. Each student in this course will eventually be paired with a student choreographer with whom he or she will collaborate to realize costumes for the choreographer’s work and which will be presented during the fall or spring departmental dance productions. Students will also be creating in a loose-leaf binder their own Resource Book throughout the year, which will comprise all handouts, in-class exercises ,and notes. The Resource Book will be a useful reference tool as students work on various class assignments and/or departmental productions. This course is designed to give students a basic knowledge of the many intricate creative and technical steps involved in the design process when creating costumes. A deeper understanding of the various aspects of costume design for dance is an enormous tool that can not only enhance one’s overall design skills but also allow the student to communicate more fully during the creative process—whether with fellow designers or as a choreographer or director collaborating with a production team.
The Resource Book will also serve as a helpful guide in the future, as the student embarks on his or her own productions at Sarah Lawrence and beyond.

Faculty

Graduate Courses 2023-2024

MFA Theatre

Advanced Costume Conference

Component—Year

This course is designed for students who have completed Costume Design l and Costume Design ll and would like to further explore any aspect of designing costumes by researching and realizing a special costume design project of their own choosing.

Faculty

Costume Design I (Section 1)

Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and will cover various concepts and ideas, such as the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design room sewing techniques, as well as the basics of wardrobe technician duties; students will become familiar with all of the various tools and equipment in the costume shop and wardrobe areas. Students will also have the opportunity to assist a Costume Design ll student on a departmental production to further their understanding of the design process when creating costumes. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, choreographers, dancers, and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design I (Section 2)

Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and will cover various concepts and ideas, such as: the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history, and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design room sewing techniques, as well as the basics of wardrobe technician duties; students will become familiar with all of the various tools and equipment in the costume shop and wardrobe areas. Students will also have the opportunity to assist a Costume Design ll student on a departmental production to further their understanding of the design process when creating costumes. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, choreographers, dancers, and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design II

Component—Year

This course expands upon the ideas and concepts set forth in Costume Design l in order to hone and advance the student’s existing skill sets. Students will further develop their design and construction abilities as they research and realize design concepts for a variety of theoretical design projects, as well as develop their communication skills through class discussions and presentations. Students will also have the likely opportunity to design costumes for a departmental production, assisted by a Costume Design l student. This design opportunity allows for a unique learning experience, as the student collaborates with a director and creative team to produce a fully realized theatrical production.

Faculty

Previous Courses

Theatre

Costume Design I

Open, Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and covers ideas about the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history, and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design-room techniques, including stitching by machine and by hand as well as working as a wardrobe technician. Students will have the opportunity to assist a costume designer on one of the departmental productions to further their understanding of the design process. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, designers and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design I, Section 1

Open, Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and will cover various concepts and ideas, such as: the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history, and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design-room sewing techniques, as well as the basics of wardrobe technician duties; and students become familiar with all the various tools and equipment in the costume shop and wardrobe areas. Students will also have the opportunity to assist a Costume Design ll student on a departmental production to further their understanding of the design process when creating costumes. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, choreographers, dancers, and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design I, Section 2

Open, Component—Year

This course is an introduction to the basics of designing costumes and will cover various concepts and ideas, such as: the language of clothes, script analysis, the elements of design, color theory, fashion history, and figure drawing. We will work on various theoretical design projects while exploring how to develop a design concept. This course also covers various design-room sewing techniques, as well as the basics of wardrobe technician duties; and students become familiar with all the various tools and equipment in the costume shop and wardrobe areas. Students will also have the opportunity to assist a Costume Design ll student on a departmental production to further their understanding of the design process when creating costumes. No previous experience is necessary. Actors, directors, choreographers, dancers, and theatre makers of all kinds are welcome.

Faculty

Costume Design II

Intermediate, Component—Year

This course expands upon Costume Design l to hone and advance existing skill sets in both design and construction as we cover and review a range of topics. Students will explore theoretical design projects, as well as have the likely opportunity to design a departmental production, further developing the student’s abilities as they research and realize a design concept for the stage in collaboration with the director and design team.

Faculty