She compares her creative process to that of a detective, scanning old manuscripts for hidden clues, finding inspiration in colors and textures and digging beyond the surface for the elements that define the feeling of a theater production.

“I’ve always been amazed at the way you can take the written word from the imagination into the real world through theater,” said Chiment, who in addition to designing the costumes for Temple

Theater, also designs the promotional posters, handles pre-production planning and occasionally drafts plans for set design.

There was a time when women were relegated to the role of seamstress in the theater world, she explains. But times have changed.

Chiment’s set designs for the Santa Fe Opera production of The Magic Flute and her costume designs for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's production of The Historical Tragedy of Dr. Faustus will be featured in “Curtain Call: Celebrating A Century of Women Designing for Live Performance” at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts at Lincoln Center's Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery through May 3.


A dragon costume Chiment designed for Faustus, complete with a 12-foot wingspan and computerized eyes that sparkle and glow, is featured suspended above the other designs at the Lincoln Center exhibit.

“Up until the ’70s women were the unsung heroes of design. In 1880 the first women designers began surface,” said Chiment. “The exhibit partly addresses the fact that women have done so much for theater itself, from sets to costumes and lighting showing all the depth and breadth of what we’re doing.”

Depending on the production, her creations can take anywhere from a few months to a year. For Faustus, she began by researching medieval painting and illuminated manuscripts.

In preparation for Temple Theaters' recent production of The Seven, she flew to Los Angeles, where she hung out with hip-hop dancers and attempted to absorb as much of the culture as possible in order to create costuming for the urban inspired production.

Chiment earned her master’s in theater design from New York University's School of the Arts and her bachelor’s in drama from the University of California, San Diego.

“I’ve made hoopskirts out of coat hangers, costumes out of candy,” she said. “I’ve always loved creating things. I loved playing with boxes and turning them in to forts made of cardboard. I’ve experimented with everything and made some mistakes along the way.”