AMANDA CARDWELL - AIKEN COSTUME PORTFOLIO
  • Costume Design
    • The Lightning Thief
    • Little Shop of Horrors
    • The Thanksgiving Play
    • The Storyteller
    • Waiting for Godot
    • The Eleanors
    • Pride and Prejudice Devised
    • Chekhov! 3 Farces
    • Spring Awakening
    • Dorothy's Dictionary
    • Pinocchio Teatrale
    • Into the Breeches!
    • Getting Near to Baby
    • The Clever Blacksmith
    • Theoretical Designs
  • Technical
    • Tailoring/Draping
    • Costume Shop Management
    • First Hand
    • Hair and Makeup
    • Millinery
    • Misc Art/Desgin
  • About
  • CV

Curriculum Vitae

Amanda Cardwell Aiken CV 2026.pdf
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Last Updated 4/28/26
E-mail: [email protected]
Current Location: Portland, OR


University of Portland Theater- Portland, OR
2024 - Present, Costume Studio Manager and Draper
Costume Designer - The Lightening Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical Directed by Andy Christensen
Costume Designer - The Thanksgiving Play Directed by Phillip Guevara
Costume Designer - Pride and Prejudice; Devised Directed by Jenna Tamimi

Renegade Opera - Portland, OR
Costume Designer - The Raven Directed by Melory Mirashrafi

PSU Opera - Portland, OR
Costume Designer - The Eleanors  Directed by Brenda Nuckton

Des Moines Metro Opera - Indianola, IA
Costume Shop Manager/Foreman - 2025 Season: The Flying Dutchman, The Cunning Little Vixen and The Rake's Progress

Artists Repertory Theatre - Portland, OR
Costume Designer - The Storyteller Directed by Luan Schooler

Portland Revels - Portland, OR
Draper, Midwinter Revel Norse Fire

Corrib Theatre - Portland, OR
Costume Designer - Waiting for Godot Directed by Patty Gallagher

21Ten Theatre - Portland, OR
Costume Coordination - Chekhov! 3 Farces Directed and Translated by Štĕpán Šimek
Costume Coordination - Dorothy's Dictionary Directed by Ted Rooney

Utah Opera Festival and Musical Theatre - Logan, UT
Costume Designer - Scalia/Ginsburg and Trial by Jury Directed by Josh Shaw
Costume Designer - Little Shop of Horrors Directed by George Pinney
Costume Coordination - 
Les Misérables SE 2023 Directed by Stefan Espinosa
Costume Coordination - Les Misérables SE 2022 Directed by Stefan Espinosa
Wardrobe Assistant - I Do! I Do!, 33 Variations, Souvenir 


Arizona Opera Company - Phoenix, AZ
First Hand - 2023-2024 Mainstage: Frankenstein, Barber of Seville, Romeo + Juliette, Don Giovanni
Stitcher - Education shows: Beauty and the Beast and The Big Bad Wolf

Phoenix Theatre Company - Phoenix, AZ
Overhire Stitcher - Elf the Musical

Malouf Companies - Logan, UT
Costume Designer/Wardrobe - President's Day Mattress Sale Ad Feat. George Washington


Lyric Repertory Company - Logan, UT
Asst. Shop Manager/Draper - 2023 Season: Marvelous Wonderettes!, One Man, Two Guvnors, Twelfth Night, Break It Down
Tailor - A Christmas Carol
Costume Designer - Into the Breeches! Directed by Adrianne Moore

Utah State University Theatre - Logan, UT
Costume Designer - Pinocchio Teatrale a New Musical Directed by Stefan Espinosa
Costume Designer - Spring Awakening the Musical Directed by Jason Spelbring
Wigs - Sweeney Todd
Hair and Makeup - 9 to 5 the Musical, Directed by Valerie Rachelle
Costume Designer - Getting Near to Baby Directed by Matt Omasta
Draper - The Moors Mastiff
Wigs and Makeup - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley* Regional KCACTF Honorable Mention
Draper/Alterations - Julius Caesar
Draper - Our Town


Lion TV - New York, NY
Wardrobe Assistant - Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall
Wardrobe Assistant - Deadliest Decades

Lucky 8 TV - New York, NY
Wardrobe Head - Abuse of Power 

Sanguine Theatre Company - New York, NY
Costume Designer, Education ​Off-Broadway Directed by Margarett Perry
Costume Designer, Jessica Ice Box Festival Directed by Emily Jackson

New Ohio Ice Factory - New York NY
Costume Designer - Are We Human Directed by Margarett Perry

New York Shakespeare Exchange - New York, NY
Costume Design Intern - Hamlet 10

Cider Mill Playhouse - Endicott, NY
Costume Designer - Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike 

Kitchen Theatre Company - Ithaca, NY
Costume Designer - Peter and the Starcatcher Directed by Rachel Lampert
Costume Designer - I and You Directed by Emily Jackson
Costume Designer - Sunset Baby Directed by Margarett Perry
Costume Designer - Seminar Directed by Margarett Perry

UO University Theatre - Eugene, OR
Costume Designer New Voices: The Tale of the Clever Blacksmith and the Dullard Prince
Stage Manager Arabian Nights by Dominic Cooke, Directed by Michael Najjar
Asst. Costume Designer I Ain't Yo Uncle Directed by LaDonna Forsgren
Stage Manager New Voices Plays: Astral and Savage & Strawberry by Alexis Shaeztle and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason

Oregon Contemporary Theatre - Eugene, OR
Stage Manager - Boom

Mad Duckling Children's Theatre Company- Eugene, OR
Costume Design Assistant Summer 2012

Pocket Playhouse Theatre- Eugene, OR
Costume Designer - The Tempest: Devised.
Director/Costume Designer - Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev

Teaching Experience
University of Portland, 2024-Present
Rolls: Costume Shop Manager and Draper, Costume Practicum/Lab Supervisor, Costume Designer, Props Master
Classes Taught: FA 108 The Creative Process in Performative Art ​, THTR 172 Theatre Experience II, THTR 365 Theatre Makeup Techniques, THTR 372 Production Work & Review
Club Advisor: Basic Stitches

Utah State University, 2022-2023
Teacher of Record: Stage Makeup, Costume Construction I

Education
M.F.A Costume Design and Technology, Utah State University
Rolls: Costume Designer, Asst. Costume Shop Manager, Tailor, Draper, Costume Practicum/Lab Supervisor
Teaching Assistant: Historical Clothing, Costume Construction I/II, Costume Design I/II, Stage Makeup

B.A. Theatre Arts, University of Oregon
Magna Cum Laude with Departmental Honors
Focus: Stage Management, Costume Design
Workshops: 'Bake-Off' Playwriting with Heidi Schreck, 6 Acts Prague Quadrennial- 2nd Act, Roma Patel 2011, Hand to Mouth Theatre, Devising

Committees
Season Selection Representative, University of Portland Department of Theatre 2025, 2026
Season Selection Representative, Utah State University Department of Theatre 2022
Differential Tuition Committee, Utah State University Caine College of the Arts
Visiting Artists and Scholarships Series Committee, Utah State University Caine College of the Arts
Caine College of the Arts Grad Representative, Graduate Student Council, Utah State University


Presentations
Procreate for Costume Design Workshop at Oregon State Thespian Conference 2025
Pinocchio Teatrale Costume Designs, USITT 2023

Publications
ArtsWatch, Oregon, and Linda Ferguson. “21TEN’s Broadly Comic ‘Chekhov: 3 Farces’ Offers Some Rowdy and Welcome Laughs • Oregon Artswatch.” Oregon ArtsWatch • Arts & Culture News, 25 Feb. 2025, www.orartswatch.org/21tens-broadly-comic-chekhov-3-farces-offers-some-rowdy-and-welcome-laughs/. 
    - "Amanda Cardwell-Aiken’s costume coordination compounds the visual comedy"  

Hurd, Heather. “UFOMT Blossoms with a Killer Little Shop of Horrors.” Utah Theatre Bloggers, 8 July 2024, utahtheatrebloggers.com/916522/ufomt-blossoms-with-a-killer-little-shop-of-horrors. 
     - "All of the costumes designed by Amanda Cardwell-Aiken’s capture the essence of each character. Seymour’s nerdy, washed out earth tones contrast Audrey’s black cocktail dress with hot pink accents, clashing as opposites. Audrey’s costume more closely connects her to her barbaric boyfriend with his black leather jacket. As the show progresses the couples’ costumes change and align with each other. Seymour’s updated duds are have a saturated emerald vest that compliment Audrey’s new dress classy that is a rosier shade of pink. I also loved the Urchin’s final dresses in classic 1950’s sleeveless cut with natural waist and pencil fit, but it was in a bright neon green sequined fabric. This pulls the whole show to a close as the zombie plant creatures emerge to warn the audience not to feed the plants."

Pipino, K. (2022). #TheatreAppreciation. SUNY ONEONTA. p.107.
     - Costume Design Renderings from The Birds included as example of fantasy costumes.
​
“All the Best Cosplay Beauty Looks at New York Comic Con.” Nylon, 9 Oct. 2018, www.nylon.com/articles/nycc-cosplay-beauty. 
     - Cosplay from 2018 NYCC included in article.

Internships
Kitchen Theatre - Ithaca, NY
Stage Management/Production Internship (EMC)
Assistant stage manager getting hands on work and exposure to stage management skills and production. Experience in props and/or costumes required. Will be working as asst. stage manager through the entire production process from pre production to strike, as well as costume and prop organization and maintenance throughout the season.

La Musica Lirica - Novafeltria, Italy
Stage Management Internship, Rigoletto by Verdi; Directed by Robert Breault
Assistant Stage Manager, La Cenerentola by Rossini; Directed by Carol Freeman
Assistant Stage Manager, Don Bucefalo by Cagnoni; Directed by Kathryn Hartgrove

Awards/Achievements
KCACTF Region 8 Honorable Mention Costume Design- Spring Awakening
KCACTF Region 8 Honorable Mention Allied Arts - Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
KCACTF Region 8 Honorable Mention Costume Design Theoretical - Pipeline
KCACTF Region 8 Smithsonian Membership Award - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
KCACTF Region 7 Meritorious Achievement Stage Management - Arabian Nights
KCACTF Meritorious Achievement Stage Management - Arabian Nights
Contestant on the Price is Right. Winning multiple prizes.
KCACTF Region 7 1st Place Costume Design Paper Project- Sweeney Todd
KCACTF Meritorious Achievement Devising
Everett D. Monte Scholarship, Eleanor W Karrer, Outstanding Theatre Arts Student Scholarship

Special Skills
Costuming: Draping/Cutting, Tailoring, Sewing, Alterations, Crafts, Dyeing, Digital Rendering, Historic Costuming, Brother Embroidery Machine
Programs: Word, Excel, Google Workspace, Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, Procreate, Qlab, Vectorworks (Basics), 
Able to read music and play percussion instruments
Costume Design     Technical Projects     About     Resume     Contact
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  • Costume Design
    • The Lightning Thief
    • Little Shop of Horrors
    • The Thanksgiving Play
    • The Storyteller
    • Waiting for Godot
    • The Eleanors
    • Pride and Prejudice Devised
    • Chekhov! 3 Farces
    • Spring Awakening
    • Dorothy's Dictionary
    • Pinocchio Teatrale
    • Into the Breeches!
    • Getting Near to Baby
    • The Clever Blacksmith
    • Theoretical Designs
  • Technical
    • Tailoring/Draping
    • Costume Shop Management
    • First Hand
    • Hair and Makeup
    • Millinery
    • Misc Art/Desgin
  • About
  • CV