Catherine Baumgardner
Scholarship
Matter of Time
Matter of Time was a feature film directed by Jeremy Snead and co-starring Sean Astin and his daughter Ali Astin. I was the costume designer for the film and my husband, Jason, was an Executive Producer. It was a three-week shoot, April 2023. It was an incredible experience. Several of the crew were Believers. It was a very encouraging, life-giving set to be on. I was proud to be part of it.
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In the film, Sean wears a cloak I made for him. One night we were shooting a scene he wears the cloak. He has to pull the hood on his head in the scene and he kept overshooting the landing. I worked with him on it and he said, "I haven't done cloak acting in twenty years." We all had a good laugh at that since we are all Lord of the Rings fans.
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Here is a clip from the Behind the Scenes of Sean Astin talking about working with me on the film.
Above: Sean Astin (wearing the cloak I made) and me
The Toll
Gates McFadden and I became friends in February 2014 when she hired me to design costumes for a play entitled, The Ugly One in LA. Since then, I have done personal clothing construction for her, costumes for her one woman show she created and performed on Star Trek cruise lines, and her costume for "Death" in The Toll Directed by Leah Welch.
Text from Gates after seeing the video above (Jan. 2, 2023):
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"The costume is remarkable, truly remarkable. Just perfect...got me excited to wear it!! You are a great talent Catherine!!"
Gates and me
"Baumgardner’s level of design meets, and even exceeds, that of any large regional theatre in our area. She is clearly a huge asset to your department and an incredible designer."
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--Sarah Gay, TCU Professor of the Arts
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Adjudication for:
Little Women costume design
February 17, 2023
"The costumes were fun and creative."
--Morgan Mallory, Kennedy Center Respondent,
Professor Midwestern State University
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Adjudication for:
Godspell costume design
April 22, 2023
"Beautiful...authentic...attention to detail..."
--Barbara MacDonald, author Angels Tell the Story
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Adjudication for:
Little Women costume design
February 18, 2023
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Voice of Costume Podcast
created and hosted by
Catherine Baumgardner
Deborah Landis is the costume designer for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, creating Indie's famous costume he still wears even in the fifth installment of the franchise. She designed costumes for Michael Jackson's Thriller video, creating the iconic red leather jacket look. Deborah is arguably the leading advocate for costume designers. At UCLA, she hosts: Sketch to Screen in February where a panel of highly renowned costume designers have a QA session for an invited audience, Design Showcase West at UCLA in May, and a special costume design educators luncheon in June. I have attended all three of these events since 2014. At the luncheon, we discuss our departments, classes we offer, how to make our departments cutting edge with advancing technology, and much more. In May of 2018, I was attending Sketch to Screen and was completely struck by the deep desire to create a podcast that would focus on interviewing costume designers. I immediately began reaching out to top tear designers. And all of them were eager and willing to do an interview. Thus, my podcast Voice of Costume began. Since 2018, several PR companies have reached out to me asking me to interview costume designers to help boost audience's awareness of the work that goes into design. I was the first podcast that focused on any stage or film designers. As of 2020, several others have come out with a podcast focusing on costume designers. I am proud to say I was the first and I may have even inspired others to do the same thing.
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A little bit about the show:
Costume designers are first and foremost storytellers who are partners in the creative process. They thrive on being intrinsically collaborative and helping the characters reveal the story to the audience in subtle and profound ways.
Hearing the storytelling process from costume designers and their collaborators at all stages of production is such a valuable tool for not only designers but for all involved in the creative process. Shining a brighter light on the role and contribution of costumes in telling story and revealing character will certainly garner a greater understanding and respect for the costuming process, designers, and the story being told.
AND we have a lot of fun hearing great behind-the-scene stories!
With Deborah Landis at Sketch to Screen Panel
Voice of Costume Podcast Interviews:
Salvador Perez: The Mindy Project, Pitch Perfect films, Pres. Costume Designer’s Guild
Mark Bridges: The Fablemans, Oscar winner for The Artist, Phantom Thread
Gates McFadden: Star Trek: The Next Generation star
Eden Coblenz: Modern Family
Lisa Freeland: Director Love, Cecil
Paul Tazewell: Hamilton, Harriet, West Side Story
Justine Seymour: Women of the Movement, Transatlantic
Deborah L. Scott: E.T., Titanic, Avatar films
Elaine Montalvo: Walking Dead, One True Loves
And more…
Around the World Listeners!
The amazing opportunity with a podcast, is I have listeners from all of the world! This is more influential than if I had published a short article read by just a few hundred people. I am honored and excited about that.
"What a great podcast! I felt like I just had a masterclass. I am looking forward to the next one."
--Red1632, listener review
"...I found myself completely enthralled by the stories, lives, and work of the guests on the show."
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--LaurenK24, listener review
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From a Publicist After an Interview with a Designer on my Podcast:
My Podcast Download stats as of August 2023:
(The spikes are the downloads on the day the episode drops)
A few of the many email requests from PR companies to interview designers:
My husband, Jason, was a co-writer on the film Run the Race of which Tim Tebow was a producer. Here we are at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd for its premier, 2019.
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Pictured below: Tim Tebow and me
Run the Race
Feature Film
Perfect Lineup
Fantasy Sports Documentary
Jason and I shot and produced our own documentary Perfect Lineup which is about fantasy football. It was accepted in several film festivals (pictured above) and was even hosted by Daily Fantasy Sports Players Conference in NYC for its premiere, 2015.The learning experience we had on this is unmeasurable. A major faith step in this journey is described in our story on taking the job at ACU. That story is included under the "Teaching" tab.
Active Union Memberships:
USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology)
CITA (Christians in Theatre Arts)
Shows Designed at ACU 2018--2023
Wonderful Town 2018
John and Jen 2018
Steel Magnolias 2019
Bright Star 2019
Beauty and the Beast (with rental) 2019
White Rose 2019
Spooklight (Feature Film) 2019
Pack of Lies 2020
Cinderella: A Fairytale Short Film 2020
American Son 2020
Beau Jest (mentored student designer) 2021
Songs for a New World (mentored student designer) 2021
Dangerous Ones (Feature Film) 2021
A Midsummer Night's Dream 2021
Twelfth Night 2021
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 2021
God's Favorite (mentored student designer) 2021
Light in the Piazza 2022
Bus Stop (mentored student designer) 2022
Coast Starlight (mentored student co-designer) 2022
Little Mermaid (with rental) 2023
Little Women 2023
Almost, Maine (mentored student designer) 2023
A Matter of Time (Feature Film) 2023
Godspell 2023
Matilda 2023