About

What I do…   
I thrive on collaborating with all my co-workers because working alone is no fun.  I like a good script (who doesn’t?) particularly new pieces, and helping develop characters and stories for the first time.  The research process, learning about people and their stories, is always fascinating and humbling.  I do a deep dive into my voluminous costume library, which has too many books, if there is such a thing.  Inspiration is in every fabric store and finding the perfect choices is the most satisfying thing ever.  Working through the details during rehearsals is extremely gratifying, making all the costumes come together as the production develops.  There’s nothing better than a good costume shop; finding treasures in stock and using them to great advantage. I’m a stickler for good wigs because nothing is worse onstage than a bad wig. I adore period shows, love musicals, as well as stories from today. My goal is always finding or creating clothes that excite the actors and give them keys to their characters. 

What I’ve done…
Maggie Morgan is a costume designer for stage and screen whose work includes the Broadway musical Soul Doctor, the feature film Car Dogs, and the award-winning web series Send Me: An Original Web Series, which streamed on BET.com. She has designed at major theatres in the USA, including Berkeley Rep, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, and the Pasadena Playhouse.  She was an Assistant Costume Designer on many feature films, including Men in Black, Casino, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Mona Lisa Smile. Her work was featured in the exhibition CURTAIN CALL: Celebrating a Century of Women Designing for Live Performance, at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts in 2008.  She was the professor of costume design at University of California, Davis for 20 years. 

LINKS TO MORE INFO ABOUT MAGGIE’S WORK
imdb.com
about the artists
United Scenic Artists 829
costume designers guild local 892
TBA Profile

What I teach…
Maggie Morgan has been a costume designer for stage and screen for over thirty years.  She was on the faculty at University of California, Davis for 20 years, where she taught costume design for stage and screen.  She has also taught at FIDM Los Angeles, Columbia College of Chicago-Semester in LA Program, and University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Her design work includes two hundred productions spanning Broadway, regional theatre, film, television, dance, opera, and digital media.   She worked as an Assistant Costume Designer on many feature films, including Men in Black, Apollo 13, A Bronx Tale, Casino, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Wag the Dog, and Mona Lisa Smile.  

She brings to the classroom this in-depth knowledge of the process of designing costumes for theatre and film.  Her teaching viewpoint starts from that experience as a designer, always including the contributions of the entire creative team.  The history and scholarship of the art of performance design and its practitioners give additional insight and context to the topic.

She has an MFA in Stage Design from Yale University, School of Drama, and a BA in Dramatic Art from UC Davis. Member of the Costume Designers Guild, local 892, and United Scenic Artists, local 829 - the professional unions for designers in theatre, television, and film.  

Visit her YouTube channel @maggiemorgan836 to view her curated video playlists about the art of design.

UC Davis profile
UC BERKELEY - OLLI Spring 2026
YouTube Channel @maggiemorgan836