All the Best in Retirement to Professor Marie Anne Chiment
As part of an extraordinary career spanning decades of artistic achievement, mentorship, and creative leadership, the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts at Temple University would like to celebrate Professor Marie Anne Chiment, Head of Costuming.
Marie has been a mentor, collaborator and advocate for class after class of students, showing young artists how to thrive in their art while giving positive life lessons about creativity, aesthetics and determination. A creative force whose impact can be seen on stages around the world, countless alumni have carried her lessons into the professional theater industry or wherever they have gone on to employ their talents.
As Head of Costuming, Prof. Chiment helped shape Temple's costume program into a place where creativity, craftsmanship, and collaboration thrive. Students learned the technical skills of costume design and construction, and the importance of curiosity, discipline, and artistic excellence.
As she embarks on a well-earned retirement she leaves behind an incredible legacy.
Marie's distinguished career in costume and scenic design has earned recognition across the United States and internationally. Early on, she gained widespread attention for her set and costume design work on Beauty and the Beast at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, directed by Colin Graham.
Her artistry would go on to grace productions at some of the country's most respected performing arts organizations, including the Seattle Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Opera Theater, the Nakamichi Festival, The Black Rep, Delaware Theatre Company, Walnut Street Theatre, Arena Stage and more.
It was at Arena Stage that Marie first met fellow Temple faculty member Doug Wager, beginning a professional friendship that would become part of Temple's creative community for years to come.
Recognition on the National Stage
Throughout her career, Marie's work has been celebrated for its artistry, innovation, and storytelling power.
She received two prestigious Kevin Kline Awards for Outstanding Costume Design for her work on Ace and I Am My Own Wife at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. These honors paid tribute to her ability to apply costume design seamlessly (no pun intended) and inspirationally as an essential element of character, narrative, and world-building.
In 2008, her designs were featured in Curtain Call: Celebrating a Century of Women Designing for Live Performance at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, placing her work among some of the most accomplished designers in the field.
Two years later, Temple University honored her with the Faculty Creative Achievement Award, recognizing both her professional accomplishments and her impact as an educator.
Retirement marks the close of one chapter, but for someone as creative as Marie, it is undoubtedly the beginning of another.
On behalf of the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, we extend our deepest gratitude for her years of service, artistic brilliance, and unwavering commitment to our community.
Thank you, Marie, for sharing your talent, your wisdom, and heart with Temple. Your influence will continue to be felt on our stages, in our classrooms, and in the lives of the many students fortunate enough to have worked with you.
We wish you every joy in this next adventure and look forward to celebrating all that comes next.
Congratulations on your retirement, Professor Marie Anne Chiment. You will always be part of the fabric of Temple Theaters (pun intended that time!).