Stephanie Henderson

Visiting Assistant Professor

Office: 516 Herrick
Phone: 517/629-0729
E-mail: [email protected]

Stephanie joined the department in the Fall of 2016 as Costume Shop Supervisor and will serve as Visiting Assistant Professor for the College continuing her work in design, shop supervision as well as teaching theatre classes this coming fall.  She graduated from Michigan State University with a MFA in Production Design, fulfilling a life-long dream of becoming a costume designer. She earned a BA in English from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.

Her involvement in theatre spans 30 years, from acting and directing to designing and teaching. With students of all ages, Stephanie has used creative drama as a tool to assist students with learning disabilities to teenagers in residential treatment centers. As Managing Director of the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans, MA, she instituted a New Works Weekend, showcasing the original work of community playwrights. While living in Virginia, she created the Ha’Penney stage, a theatre program for students in the Richmond area.

Stephanie served as Lecturer and Costume Designer for the Theatre and Speech Department at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Her responsibilities included designing and building costumes for all theatre productions, mentoring students in the costume shop as well as teaching classes including Make-up Design, Costume Design and Intro to Theatre.

Other professional credits include her successful funding of grants from amounts ranging from $10, 000 to $900,000 in order to support the development and advancement of afterschool programs, emergency assistance programs for families in need, support of the arts as well as scholarships for needy students.

Stephanie worked two years as an intern and then three years as costume designer/coordinator for La Musica Lirica. The company auditions young vocal talent from all over the country for an opportunity to spend five weeks in the beautiful Emilia-Romagna region of Italy singing opera. For more information on La Musica Lirica, please view their webpage at http://www.lamusicalirica.com

Since returning to Michigan, Steph has collaborated with Lansing Community College and MSU Opera as designer and will be working with Opera Saratoga in the summer as Costume Shop Manager.  She is also looking forward to working with Williamston Theatre in the coming year.

Stephanie has relocated to Michigan with her husband Paul, her golden retrievers, and her horse to be closer to family. Her son, Paul “PJ” Henderson, also a MSU alum lives in Lansing, Michigan and works as lead Videographer for Central Michigan University.

For more information on Steph’s work, please visit www.stephaniehendersondesigns.com