UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — School of Theatre master’s student Erin Stanek, who will graduate in May with a master of fine arts in theatre with a focus in costume production, is a 2024 recipient of Penn State’s Professional Master’s Excellence Award.
The Professional Master’s Excellence Award recognizes students in their final year of graduate work based on their academic record and the quality and impact of their culminating experience, including creative works, performance and projects conducted in a professional setting. Stanek joins fellow College of Arts and Architecture recipients Allison Brault, master’s student in music, and Kimberly Cunningham, master’s student in architecture.
Stanek’s thesis is titled “From the Yee to the Haw: The Evolution of Western Wear from Function to Fabulous” and explores men’s fashion and tailoring from the 1930s to today. She is producing three costumes based on the looks worn by Gene Autry, who, in the 1930s, was one of the first country music stars to wear western-inspired costumes; Hank Snow, who was known for his heavily embroidered suits, often called Nudie Suits, which gained popularity in the 1950s; and Orville Peck, who blends functional clothing with embellishments and is known for always wearing a fringed mask.
“I have been able to combine all these looks and know that I have the skills to do this really fun and wonderful thesis,” said Stanek, noting she did historical research to find outfits that each musician actually wore. “Sometimes I was able to find only one image, but I did research on similar costumes and made patterns from that research.”
Stanek recently built a costume for the Delaware Theatre Company’s production of “Always, Patsy Cline,” working with Richard St. Clair, Penn State head of costume design, who had been hired to design five of the 10 costumes for the title character. As a draper, or costume production specialist, she took the rendering created by St. Clair and produced a design to fit the performer cast in the production. The blue and white star cowgirl costume that Stanek built was the first one worn in the musical.
“I was honored to be brought on this project,” Stanek said. “It shows that Richard as a professional designer trusts me as a professional draper, trust that was developed over 2.5 years of me being in this M.F.A. program. The blue dress opens the show, and him trusting that to me was really meaningful.”
Stanek’s interest in costumes was sparked in high school, where she realized she was more drawn to the tech side of theatre. She received a bachelor of arts in theatre from the University of West Georgia in 2019, focusing her studies on costume production.
“I realized I wanted to go into the nitty gritty of costumes, and what it takes to get a show from design to the stage,” she said.
After spending two years as a costume production intern at Playhouse on the Square, a large venue in Memphis that produces everything from large-scale musicals to small period pieces, Stanek concluded she needed the focus a graduate program would provide.
“I started asking around, and everyone told me to go to Penn State to study with Laura Robinson [head of costume production]," she said. "We met at a University Resident Theatre Association (URTA) convention, and the rest was history.”
After graduation, she plans to pursue a teaching position at a university.
“My experience at Penn State has rekindled a love of teaching that I did not know was there,” said Stanek, who has had the opportunity to co-teach at the University. “So I’m looking for jobs in university settings where I can continue draping and creating and doing what I love, while also teaching.”