Emily Tappan

Emily Tappan started working in theater at William & Mary’s costume shop, serving as a wardrobe technician on a production of Taming of the Shrew at Virginia Shakespeare Festival. She is now a costume designer, illustrator, and educator whose work spans professional theater, academic instruction, and digital design. She holds an M.F.A. in Costume Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of New Hampshire. Her teaching experience includes faculty positions at Florida State University and Virginia Commonwealth University, where she has guided both undergraduate and graduate students in costume design, illustration, figure drawing, and design fundamentals. She currently serves as a Lecturer in Design at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, where she teaches costume illustration within a digital framework. 

As a working professional, Emily has designed and illustrated for a range of regional and national theaters. She is the associate costume designer for The Guthrie Theater’s remount of A Christmas Carol (2021-present),  in additional to working on projects for Hartford Stage, Portland Center Stage, Coachella Valley Repertory, and Virginia Repertory. She has served as illustrator on Broadway, film, and television projects, including A Wonderful World (Studio 54), Mother Play (Hayes Theater), American Horror Story (FX), Poker Face 2 (Peacock), Quiz Lady (Hulu), and Genie (Peacock), Rustin (Netflix),  The White House Plumbers (HBO), collaborating repeatedly with renowned designers such as Toni-Leslie James and Leah Katznelson. She is proud member of USA Local 829.