How RMC’s costume shop led Katie Dodge ‘24 to a career in the arts.

Katie Dodge ’24 moves seamlessly through the labyrinth of backstage dressing rooms and loading docks at Richmond’s Altria Theater, preparing for another night in eight performances of The Wiz. The Tony Award-winning show is the Broadway adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz through the lens of Black culture.

Dodge rifles through racks upon racks of colorful costumes, consulting a notebook with her own meticulous shorthand, and sits down at a sewing machine to repair a dress. As the Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor on The Wiz’s North American tour, she is responsible for the maintenance and repair of hundreds of costumes, made up of nearly 1,000 individual garments.

Dodge, just two years removed from earning a B.A. in Theatre and Arts Management from Randolph-Macon, operates as part of a mobile army whose work is crucial to bringing the musical and its vibrant colors to life.

“I love being backstage. I love working on a show, and that is what my spirit craves,” Dodge said. “That is where I really feel like I am meant to be, and I am so unbelievably blessed and grateful to be 24 years old and doing what I love.”

Proving Grounds

Theatre productions at Randolph-Macon are a hands-on affair. The costuming and set design all happen in house, driven by students working every afternoon for weeks before an opening night. Dodge came to the Theatre program with a strong desire to be involved, but with no interest in performing on stage. With a love of sewing and high school experience with SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community), her skills matched RMC’s need for a costume designer. 

“We don’t have [faculty] full-time doing the costuming things, so students have always filled in,” Professor Emeritus of Theatre Gregg Hillmar said. “And Katie certainly did excellent work in managing that and taking that over.”

Dodge took ownership of the costume shop, making costumes from scratch for every show during her college career. Hillmar served as a mentor, calling on industry connections to teach Dodge the tricks of the trade, as well as a confidante.

Embarking on a career in the arts can be wrought with uncertainty; Hillmar counseled her that if she was considering other paths, to explore them fully. Community theatre would always be there on weekends after a 9-5 job. But if this is what she needed, she was in the right place. It wouldn’t be easy, but she could have a career in the arts.

The “aha” moment came for Dodge her sophomore year working on i could have had the earth, the first show in the recently opened Cobb-Kesler Theatre. “I had never been so stressed in my life, everything was falling apart,” Dodge recalled. “There was a moment where everything finally just clicked and fell into place. The costumes looked great, the lights looked great, the performers knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing.”

“In this room with my friends, going ‘oh my God, we just made something so beautiful,’ it lit a fire in my soul,” Dodge said. “I knew I had to do this forever.”

Show Business

After graduation, Dodge gained membership in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union that demands high-quality work, and set out on tour with Paw Patrol Live! Heroes Unite. In addition to wardrobe, she served as the head puppeteer for the live stage production of the beloved children’s program.

Dodge spent a year on tour with Paw Patrol, visiting 30 cities across the United States ranging from Chicago to Idaho Falls, while learning and growing. A connection from that tour got a job with The Wiz and reached out to her when they needed wardrobe help. After a phone call on Monday, she was working on the tour by Thursday.

Dodge thrives in the chaos and maintains a healthy sense of humor about her line of work. “My joke is that I’m a professional zipper-fixer,” she quips. “It’s a silly job. I love it.”

But she also understands how impactful her work on these shows can be. “Especially to work on a show that tells Black stories, to bring that to life, even if I am not a person of color, is really important,” Dodge reflected. “It means a lot to a lot of people.”

While Richmond is just one stop on The Wiz tour, it’s a special one for Dodge to be close to home and her alma mater. The Altria Theater especially holds significance in her journey in the theatre world. She recalls going to see a production of The Lion King as a child, sitting at the end of the row in awe of the elephants walking down the aisle.

“I remember looking at that puppet and going, ‘I need to know how that works right now. How did they build that? What’s in there? How is that performer making that work? Look at those beautiful costumes. How do they make that?’” Dodge recalled.

“I remember sitting in the audience being amazed by the productions put on at the Altria,” Dodge said. “To now be backstage at the Altria putting on a beautiful production, that’s crazy!”