Judy Adamson has been the Costume Director for PlayMakers Repertory Company and Head of the Costume Production program in the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina since 1993.  Before coming to North Carolina, Judy worked for 14 years at Barbara Matera Ltd., one of the foremost costume houses in New York.  She was Barbara’s assistant and workroom manager until 1990 when she began draping for the company.  She has draped clothes for such Broadway shows as Crazy for You, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Secret Garden, Showboat, Moon Over Buffalo, Hairspray, Flower Drum Song, Sideshow and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, working with such designers as Irene Sharaff, Miles White, Theoni Aldredge, Florence Klotz, Patricia Zipprodt, William Ivey Long and Bob Mackie.

Judy has also worked extensively in dance with American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor and Elliot Feld.  She is currently the project director for a supported research grant with Carolina Ballet.  Judy and her students have worked on such productions as Coppelia, Carmen, Great Galloping Gottschalk, Messiah, and Picnic in the Garden for the Raleigh based dance group.

Judy has compiled information on costume programs throughout the country for United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) called Survey of Costume Programs in the United States.  The survey and an article about choosing a graduate school can be found at http://www.usitt.org/commissions/cos.survey/home.htm

As well as teaching costume production and draping for PlayMakers Repertory Company, Judy spearheads the organization and documentation of the vintage clothing collection in the Department of Dramatic Art with the help of undergraduate and graduate workstudy students.  The garments are of interest to all costumers and historians, but the hope is that the information will be useful across disciplines with access through the internet: drama.unc.edu/costar/

Judy has draped at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah for the past six summers: HayFever (designed by Kevin Alberts), Born Yesterday, Mornings at Seven, Midsummer Night’s Dream, HMS Pinafore, Lend me a Tenor, The Musical (designed by Bill Black).