Meet Georgia Evans

We recently connected with Georgia Evans and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Georgia, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I’ve approached both directing and designing for theatre with a “fake it till you make it” mentality. Especially as a costume designer, I’ve had a lot of impostor syndrome to overcome. Despite being a designer since high school, I’ve never considered myself “fashionable.” When jumping into the industry professionally, I felt a lot of insecurity about what I wore to work every day. Not to mention the life of a Costume Production Assistant isn’t usually all that glamorous — much of my day-to-day includes lifting heavy boxes and bags of clothes, commuting around midtown Manhattan with them on the subway and in Ubers, lots and lots of stairs, and trekking west to La Duca. The job requires me to wear clothes I can move in, sneakers, pants with sizable pockets to store safety pins and oak tags, and layers to account for the weather. I had to get creative about what I was wearing. I reframed it for myself. I often say when it comes up, “I specialize in what people DO wear, not what they SHOULD wear.” I feel especially anxious putting together formal attire to wear to events related to a production, like opening night parties. The most recent opening I attended was for “Boop!”, a new Broadway musical on which I was the Costume Production Assistant. I decided to craft a look related specifically to one of the costumes in the show, framing the outfit in my head as a costume for myself. In this ensemble, I felt significantly more comfortable and like myself than I had in previous outfits I’d worn to these kinds of events. Many people commented on the connection they saw to the costume in the show, which also delighted me. I’ve also invested in some new jewelry and hair clips that make me feel more like myself in outfits catered to the comfort of the workday.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I consider myself a multi-disciplinary Theatre Artist. I mainly practice as a director and costume designer, but I come from an acting background and enjoy trying other elements when working with the right collaborators. I’m really committed to creating queer new plays and musicals. I feel the most at home in a room of queer collaborators. Recently I participated in a 24 hour play festival, Disrupt the Cis-tem, where I met 20 new queer theatre makers. It’s opportunities like this that are the most exciting to me, there was a great energy in the room from the jump because we knew we had common ground. I costume design regionally and at colleges, and work as a production assistant and dresser on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. As a director, I often self-produce with friends and work in installation-based and durational mediums, but hope to start assisting more directors and working on traditionally structured plays. I often try to wear one hat per project, but coming up, I’m embracing both my director and designer hats for the 2025 ChaShaMa Gala. This will be my third year participating in the ChaShaMa Gala, and the beautiful thing about the event is that each artist gets their own plot of space to create an interactive installation. Mine is a long-time coming collaboration with a drag performer friend of mine, T!ts Morality. A side husstle of mine inspires the piece, “Titty Totes,” hand-crafted and inspired by real and imagined boobs. I often make them as commissioned totes on my Instagram, completely personalized using several fabrics, paints, and notions, but for the Gala I’m expanding that idea to fill a small room. The installation will be titled “I’m Dreaming About Boobs,” and will feature a wall of multimedium depictions of boobs, using clothing from folks that is no longer gender-affirming to create more affirming depictions of their chests. I’m helping T!ts craft a performance that interacts with the installation through the evenings of the Gala, which is happening June 21st and 26th in Midtown Manhattan. I’m thrilled to be embracing several sides of my artistry in this piece!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three skills I possess that I feel have impacted my journey thus far are confidence, flexibility, and motivation. Confidence can be hard to practice, but it carries a long way. When you see someone you know in a professional context, it is important to say hi, and not to be embarrassed if they don’t remember you, there’s no shame in having to introduce yourself again. As theatre professionals, we’re constantly working in new enviornments, starting over with new groups of people. It is important that you remain confident in your skills and remember that no two shows are the same, so to a certain extent, everyone in the room is starting from scratch. A surprising amount of my job involves coming in and out of buildings and new spaces, which can be anxiety-inducing, especially when many of them require ID. Make friends with the security guards and remind yourself that you’re supposed to be there. Be flexible! In theatre, there will always be a number of elements out of your control, whether it be a tight budget, a collaborator who doesn’t share your vision, or a miscommunication that sets you back. It’s important to take a step back, think about the most essential elements to tell the story of the piece you are working on, and get your job done to the best of your ability. There’s a lot of give and take in any collaboration, it’s important to not get too precious about any one idea you have, and knowing when it’s time to stand your ground. As a freelancer, you have to find ways to keep yourself motivated. I tend to alternate between working 60-hour and 10-hour weeks, and the transition can be jarring. I like to keep myself busy and find it important to still maintain some kind of routine, using the extra hours in the more relaxed weeks to apply for jobs and showcase opportunities, network, and also nourish my social life. See my friends I haven’t seen in a while, spend time with my partner. Go one walks and check out new bars and shows. I try to remind myself during my 60-hour weeks that the 10-hour ones with more flexibility are coming soon, and during my 10-hour ones that the 60-hour weeks with more stability will be back as well.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

I always knew I had fantastic parents, but I’ve come to appreciate my upbringing a lot more since leaving home and meeting people with vastly different home lives than mine. My parents have always had unwavering support for my interest in pursuing the arts, which is rare, and I’m really grateful to them for that. My mom never let me quit anything. She made a big deal about it, if I signed up for a summer soccer camp, I was going to finish out the season. I remember being in a play in sixth grade, and having kind of a hard time with the environment. I think part of it was from doing children’s theatre, I had gotten used to leading roles, and I hadn’t landed one in this play. I remember finding the music rehearsals long and not really vibing with the style of the teachers who were directing us. I got kind of mopey about it at home and wanted to quit, but my mom said I had to see it through. It’s not the fondest of memories, but it helped me decide to spend my energy on a play outside of school the following year. I think that mindset feeds into my motivation in adulthood. It takes a lot for me to feel like I want to quit, and I owe that in part to my mom. My Dad, on the other hand, has always been a bit more hands-off with my decisions. When I ask him for advice to this day, he often plays more of a sounding board than anything else. This has allowed me to feel quite independent, something he always told me he wanted for me. He left his home in Wales as a 20-something-year-old for London and then the US, and has been quite pleased to see me leave suburban Pennsylvania for NYC, even if he does miss me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://georgia-evans.jimdosite.com
• Instagram: @georgiaevso
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/georgia-evans-a71ab6263

Image Credits

Personal Image: Monica Pica
Image 3: Josey
Image 4: Mark Gavin
Image 6: JCP Photography