Cara W. Carr

Costume Shop Manager

Cara W. Carr joined the Lewis and Clark Department of Theatre as Costume Shop Manger in the fall of 2006. She is emeritus faculty of Reed College after more than 25 years as faculty/resident costume designer in their Theatre Department. She designed and constructed over 100 theatrical productions and taught classes in Costume History and Design, Pattern Drafting, Costume Construction, and Stage Make-up and Masks. Since her tenure at Reed College she has continued to find herself heavily involved in creative work in the Portland area, including: costume design and construction for the Portland Opera productions of Rape of Lucrecia and the school touring production of The Magic Flute, costume draper for Act A Lady at Portland Center Stage, and as adjunct faculty at the Art Institute of Portland teaching Costume Construction.

She has also worked with numerous professional theatre groups, ballet companies, and colleges in the Northwest including: Profile Theatre (costume designer, Ashes to Ashes, A Kind of Alaska, Birthday Party, All My Sons), New Rose Theatre (costume designer, Misalliance), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Cutter, Mother Courage), Portland Ballet Co. (costume design and construction), Oregon Festival Ballet (costume design and construction), and the University of Portland as faculty/resident costume designer.

Cara has exhibited her costume design work featuring thirteen selected costumes from three very different 18th century based productions at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center, Tillamook, Ore. and in Vollum Lounge, Reed College.

Cara’s first love was dancing. She earned a BFA degree in Ballet/Theatre Design from the University of Utah while dancing professionally with the Utah Civic Ballet (now Ballet West). She is not currently involved in dance but has choreographed and taught ballet in the Portland area for many years.

She earned an MA degree in Theatre Costume Design from Idaho State University and has renewed research on her thesis topic with publication as a goal. Currently, Cara is the costume designer for Lewis and Clark College Theatre/Music Department’s fall production, Urinetown, the Musical, and teaches interested Theatre Lab students costume construction techniques.

Department of Theatre