
CHARLENE ALEXIS GROSS is an Associate Professor of Costume Design & Director of the Fashion Archive at the Pennsylvania State University's School of Theatre (SoT) in both the BFA & MFA programs.
Research includes painting pigments & techniques, integration of technology in design, history & curation of fashion studies, stage makeup/ special effects, costume design, & fabric painting/ dying. Charlene's design work encompasses new dance works, theatre, musicals, & giving homage to the reconstruction of early lyrical theatre & operetta pieces.Her work, as well as the work of alumni Austin Rausch (MFA '19), was featured in Digital Design for Custom Textiles: Patterns as Narration for Stage & Film by Amber Marissa Cook. Charlene's chapter, “Reframing Beauty & Gender in Stage Makeup,” in Teaching Performance Practices in Remote & Hybrid Spaces (edited by Jeanmarie Higgins & Elisha Halpin, Routledge 2022).
As Director the School of Theatre's Fashion Archive, she works closely with the Center of Virtual/ Material Studies on curating a hands-on teaching archive along side an open resource in fashion studies using new technologies to provide open, equitable access to all. Current research in fashion studies focuses on women empowerment through dress, with a particular focus of women's clothing from 1890-1930. The Archive is working to digitize patterns, beginning with the dresses of the 1920s.
The cornerstone of Charlene's creative activity & research is theatrical design in both professional & academic venues. Her designs shape both her teaching & vice versa. Costume design is a collaborative creative activity which requires partnerships between individuals as well as groups. She is a fierce advocate of collaboration from the beginning to the end of the design process, in her research, & in the classroom. This is where creativity emerges. She believes a solid foundation in traditional design skills married with an openness to incorporate new technologies enhance both designs & collaborations.
Charlene is the faculty advisor for the BFA costume students & an active member of faculty governance. She was Faculty Council Chair for the College of Art & Architecture (2020-21), served as chair of the UFS Faculty Affairs Committee (fall 2022-spring 2024), is a University Faculty Senator (UFS) (2020-26), member on the College's Sustainability Council, College Committee on Research & Creative Activities, & multiple other working groups at all levels of Penn State.
Theatre designs include work with Cleveland Museum of Art, Florida Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Ingenuity Festival, Merrimack Rep Theatre, the Flea, Rattelstick Theatre, Perry Street Theatre, NYC Fringe Festival, Joe’s Pub, & the Sands Casino, Atlantic City.
Dance designs have been seen at the Yard (Martha’s Vineyard), Cleveland Museum of Art, Groundworks, Gibney Studios NYC, West Wave Dance Festival, & featured on NBC Nightly News. These new works have been in collaboration with choreographers such as David Shimotakahara, Diane McIntyre, Doug Elkins, Alyssa Lee Wilmot, & Kim Tritt.
Charlene was the Resident Costume Designer for Ohio Light Opera (OLO) from 2005-2019 with more than 65 costume & set designs. Among these title are many American premiers & international recording releases featuring her design work. Immediately prior to PSU, she was the Production Manager for OLO (2006-2017) & Resident Costume Designer/ Costume Shop Manager at the College of Wooster.
Notable Broadway & London West End associate/ assistant costume design credits include the Pulitzer Prize-winning TopDog / UnderDog (Emilio Sosa, Costume Designer) & A Class Act (Carrie Robbins, Costume Designer). In addition she has worked Off-Broadway & nationally at Seattle Repertory, Guthrie, NY Public Theater, Florida Stage, New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, & the Classic Stage Company.
Educational design credits include work at Penn State, Berkeley Carroll School, the Juilliard School, Columbia University, NYU, Ashland University, Baldwin Wallace University, University Memphis Opera, Eastman Opera Theatre, & The College of Wooster.
She is a graduate of NYU's MFA program in Design for Stage & Film, proud Member of USA Local 829, and many other institutions such as USITT, Costume Society of America, ACTA, & ATHE.
Research includes painting pigments & techniques, integration of technology in design, history & curation of fashion studies, stage makeup/ special effects, costume design, & fabric painting/ dying. Charlene's design work encompasses new dance works, theatre, musicals, & giving homage to the reconstruction of early lyrical theatre & operetta pieces.Her work, as well as the work of alumni Austin Rausch (MFA '19), was featured in Digital Design for Custom Textiles: Patterns as Narration for Stage & Film by Amber Marissa Cook. Charlene's chapter, “Reframing Beauty & Gender in Stage Makeup,” in Teaching Performance Practices in Remote & Hybrid Spaces (edited by Jeanmarie Higgins & Elisha Halpin, Routledge 2022).
As Director the School of Theatre's Fashion Archive, she works closely with the Center of Virtual/ Material Studies on curating a hands-on teaching archive along side an open resource in fashion studies using new technologies to provide open, equitable access to all. Current research in fashion studies focuses on women empowerment through dress, with a particular focus of women's clothing from 1890-1930. The Archive is working to digitize patterns, beginning with the dresses of the 1920s.
The cornerstone of Charlene's creative activity & research is theatrical design in both professional & academic venues. Her designs shape both her teaching & vice versa. Costume design is a collaborative creative activity which requires partnerships between individuals as well as groups. She is a fierce advocate of collaboration from the beginning to the end of the design process, in her research, & in the classroom. This is where creativity emerges. She believes a solid foundation in traditional design skills married with an openness to incorporate new technologies enhance both designs & collaborations.
Charlene is the faculty advisor for the BFA costume students & an active member of faculty governance. She was Faculty Council Chair for the College of Art & Architecture (2020-21), served as chair of the UFS Faculty Affairs Committee (fall 2022-spring 2024), is a University Faculty Senator (UFS) (2020-26), member on the College's Sustainability Council, College Committee on Research & Creative Activities, & multiple other working groups at all levels of Penn State.
Theatre designs include work with Cleveland Museum of Art, Florida Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Ingenuity Festival, Merrimack Rep Theatre, the Flea, Rattelstick Theatre, Perry Street Theatre, NYC Fringe Festival, Joe’s Pub, & the Sands Casino, Atlantic City.
Dance designs have been seen at the Yard (Martha’s Vineyard), Cleveland Museum of Art, Groundworks, Gibney Studios NYC, West Wave Dance Festival, & featured on NBC Nightly News. These new works have been in collaboration with choreographers such as David Shimotakahara, Diane McIntyre, Doug Elkins, Alyssa Lee Wilmot, & Kim Tritt.
Charlene was the Resident Costume Designer for Ohio Light Opera (OLO) from 2005-2019 with more than 65 costume & set designs. Among these title are many American premiers & international recording releases featuring her design work. Immediately prior to PSU, she was the Production Manager for OLO (2006-2017) & Resident Costume Designer/ Costume Shop Manager at the College of Wooster.
Notable Broadway & London West End associate/ assistant costume design credits include the Pulitzer Prize-winning TopDog / UnderDog (Emilio Sosa, Costume Designer) & A Class Act (Carrie Robbins, Costume Designer). In addition she has worked Off-Broadway & nationally at Seattle Repertory, Guthrie, NY Public Theater, Florida Stage, New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, & the Classic Stage Company.
Educational design credits include work at Penn State, Berkeley Carroll School, the Juilliard School, Columbia University, NYU, Ashland University, Baldwin Wallace University, University Memphis Opera, Eastman Opera Theatre, & The College of Wooster.
She is a graduate of NYU's MFA program in Design for Stage & Film, proud Member of USA Local 829, and many other institutions such as USITT, Costume Society of America, ACTA, & ATHE.