Larissa McConnell

I began teaching at Gustavus in 2010, but am originally from the Buffalo, NY area where there is significantly more snow and significantly less frigidness. I earned my M.F.A. in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, my B.F.A. in Production Design/Costumes, and my B.S. in Secondary Education/Earth Science from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Yes, I have a degree in science, yet somehow made the transition to theatre. (I blame my involvement with a medieval re-enactment club.) I have worked as Costume Shop Manager or Shop Assistant at several theatres around the country, including the Weston Playhouse Theatre in Vermont, the Alpine Theatre Project in Whitefish, Montana, and the Chautauqua Theatre Company in Chautauqua, NY. I have also worked as the Costume Designer/Shop Manager at Bay View Music Festival in Petoskey, MI. For the summer of 2011, three Gustavus students joined me there as interns. My summers lately have taken me back to our other home in New York which is very close to the beach on Lake Erie. I have been making jewellery, weaving, dyeing and beading scarves, and in general, exploring new mediums. I have been married sixteen years to my husband Jeff, who got me into all this, and we have a very quirky cat.

I made the decision to be "an artist and a teacher" at four years old. I have taken many detours along the way, but this is truly what I have been called to do. I love sharing what I know and watching how the students take what I teach and use, re-use, and manipulate it all into new and exciting things.

Courses Taught