Notable Achievements

Associate Professor of Theatre Kerry Bechtel designed the costumes for The Star Spangled Girl  at Unity Theater in Brenham, TX. This classic Neil Simon comedy required 15 distinct costumes from the late 1960s for the three main characters. Unity Theater is a professional theatre company located in beautiful Washington County, attracting theatre artists and patrons from both the Austin and Houston areas. The Star Spangled Girl  runs through June 30.

MORE

Kerry Bechtel

Associate Professor of Theatre

Expertise

Costume Design, Costume History, Makeup Design, Theatrical Rendering techniques

Kerry has been designing costumes for nearly thirty years. In addition to teaching at Southwestern, she Has worked with regional theatre companies such as the Saint Louis MUNY, Kansas City Repertory, Kansas City Ballet, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Rainbow Company Youth Theatre, Zilker Theatre Productions, Unity Theater, and The Alpine Theatre Project. In addition to designing costumes and teaching, Kerry has also worked on several film and tv programs in the costume department and as a hair and makeup artist.

She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada and an MFA in Costume Design and Technology from UMKC in Kansas City, Missouri.

She is affiliated with the United Scenic Artists (USA Local 829), USITT, and ATHE. 

  • Biography

    Kerry has been designing costumes for nearly thirty years. In addition to teaching at Southwestern, she Has worked with regional theatre companies such as the Saint Louis MUNY, Kansas City Repertory, Kansas City Ballet, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Rainbow Company Youth Theatre, Zilker Theatre Productions, Unity Theater, and The Alpine Theatre Project. In addition to designing costumes and teaching, Kerry has also worked on several film and tv programs in the costume department and as a hair and makeup artist.

    She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada and an MFA in Costume Design and Technology from UMKC in Kansas City, Missouri.

    She is affiliated with the United Scenic Artists (USA Local 829), USITT, and ATHE. 

  • Publications

    Review of Shoe Reels: The History of Footwear in Film, By Elizabeth Ezra and Catherine Wheatley, Journal of Dress History, Volume 5, Issue 6, Winter 2021

  • Works

    Professional Costume Design

    • Godspell 
    • Sweet Delilah Swim Club 
    • To Kill a Mockingbird 
    • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 
    • Becky’s New Car 
    • The Diary of Anne Frank 
    • Little Women 
    • The Miss Firecracker Contest 
    • Boeing Boeing 
    • Almost Maine 
    • The Philadelphia Story 
    • Steel Magnolias 
    • Souvenir  
    • Billy Budd 
    • Big Fish 
    • Ring of Fire 
    • Chicago 
    • Big River 
    • The Who’s Tommy
    • Guys and Dolls 
    • Little Shop of Horrors 
    • Hedwig and the Angry Inch 
    • She Loves Me 
    • Pete ‘n’ Keely 
    • Moonlight and Magnolias 
    • Akeelah and the Bee 
    • Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook 
    • Bunnicula 
    • Fancy Nancy’s Christmas 
    • Harriet the Spy 
    • Romeo and Juliet 
    • Common Ground (World Premiere) 
    • Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
    • The Love Sonatas (World Premiere) 
    • Main Street 
    • Alice in Wonderland 
    • You Can’t Take It with You 
    • Dames at Sea 
    • The Miss Firecracker Contest 
    • Once Upon a Mattress 
    • The Best Xmas Pageant Ever 
    • The Bridge to Terabithia

    Professional Film and Television Work (Costume Department/Key Makeup)

    Fallout                           Amazon Productions 

    Captain Jack                Hays County Historical Commission 

    The Bubble Gum King  Bajakaloop Productions 

    Provenance                  Gushing Productions 

    Clouded                        Polyvinyl Productions 

  • Presentations

    PROFESSIONAL PANELS, PRESENTATIONS & EXHIBITS

    “Laboring in the Dark: Invisibility and Insufficiency in Academic Theatre” ATHE Women and Theatre, Chicago, 2016

    “Making Theatre: Costume is Essential to Character” Brunel University, London, 2015

    “More is More: Costume Design at the REP, 40 Years and Beyond” USITT Kansas City Convention, 2010

    Design Expo/The Country Wife, USITT Houston Convention 2008  

    “Not Just a Sewing Class” Invited Panelist, USITT Phoenix Convention 2007

    “Show and Tell” Costume Commission, USITT Louisville Convention 2006

    “Jumpstarting Tyro Designers” Invited Panelist, ATHE Chicago Convention 2001