Contact Sabrina Notarfrancisco
Education
B.A., University of Central Florida;
M.A., Southwest Missouri State University;
M.F.A., University of Connecticut
“Revealing character through costume in a collaborative environment is a wonderful and mysterious process. At the beginning of the design process, I try to imagine where the piece will take me, whose ideas will guide me, what research will inspire me. When the project is completed, I marvel at the organic manner in which a small idea, an instinct, or an imagining can grow into a product that enhances both the actor’s and the audience’s relationship to the characters being portrayed on stage.” - Sabrina Notarfrancisco
Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater
Joined Connecticut College: 2004
Specialization:
- Costume design
- Costume construction
- Costume history
Sabrina Notarfrancisco has always been fascinated by the theatre and is constantly challenged by the process of bringing characters to life through costume. Her interest in sewing and knitting was sparked as a child in Germany when she watched her "Oma" knit hundreds of dolls for children's charities. This desire to create with yarn and fabric combined with frequent visits to, and participation in, the theatre resulted in the natural career choice of costume designer.
Notarfrancisco has designed a variety of shows including Smokey Joe's Cafe, Stop Kiss, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Hamlet, Life is a Dream, and Mad Forest. She has also worked Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre as the assistant costume designer for Lanford Wilson's Book of Days.
Notarfrancisco has freelanced for Integrity Designworks, a company specializing in the building and designing of masks and puppets, where she has been acquiring new knowledge about such cutting-edge materials as thermal plastics and felts.
Her mask-building credits include masks from the Wausau Dance Theater's production of Alice in Wonderland and the National Theatre of the Deaf's production of The Curse of Sleepy Hollow.
Notarfrancisco's other interests include costume history, costume shop management, draping, and millinery.
View the theater department Web site.