Meet the Team
Marcos Ambriz got his first job stitching and building crafts at a college costume shop in Southern California at 16 and hasn’t looked back. After spending 5 formative years in the costuming department at the Disneyland Resort he shifted his focus from the more administrative and operational aspects of costuming to building the pieces he’d been putting into parades. During this time he built pieces for Disney, Universal, Fox, Sony, and others. After a post-pandemic hiatus in costume Marcos has returned to his passion in a completely new state and a different branch of costuming with the Utah Opera where he is the Costume Rentals and Collections Manager
Dawnette Dryer was born and raised in California. She received her undergraduate degree from Concordia Lutheran University in Portland, Oregon and her Masters in Education from National University. She owned a screen printing and embroidery business before changing careers to teach English and theater in her small town in Northern California. She taught in Beijing, China for two years before deciding to return to school and earn her Masters of Fine Arts in costume technology from Indiana University in Bloominton, Indiana. She spent two summers with the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company as Draper and Assistant Shop Manager and has been the Draper at Utah Opera since 2023.
Madison Halverstadt is building her resume towards her goal as Costume Designer. She graduated Utah Valley University with a BFA in theatrical design. She has worked wardrobe at Utah Shakespeare Festival. She has been with Utah Opera since 2023 as the Costume Rentals & Collections Assistant Manager.
Molly Hartvigsen, Utah Opera’s First Hand, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies, with an emphasis in clothing construction and a minor in business from Brigham Young University. She also holds a Master of Arts in Fashion and Textile History from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Molly has worked with museums across the country maintaining their historic costume collections. She currently shares her passion for costume history through the creation of costume pieces for Utah Opera. When needle and thread are not in hand she enjoys, baking, reading and enjoying the great outdoors.
Milivoj “Mili” Poletan, Utah Opera’s talented Tailor, started working in the fashion industry straight out of high school. Showing talent, he was promoted up through production and for 10 years he produced patterns and factory production samples and fashion lines. He then took a degree specializing in textiles for the fashion industry. Adventures took him to Switzerland where he tailored for 2 years before returning to Bosnia to act as line supervisor in a suit company. Mili has been Tailor at Utah Opera from 2002 to the present.
Julie Porter has been an artist and maker since elementary school. After spending 20 years as an entrepreneur, Julie was volunteered to help her daughters with their high school theater shows. The theater bug hit and after doing set painting for a few years, Julie returned to school for a BA in technical theatre in addition to her BA in general art. Upon graduating, she has been working as the Crafts Artisan / Milliner since 2023.
Dusty Stutsman Terrell started working as the Charge Scenic Artist for The Utah Opera in 2017. During her time with the Opera, she’s also painted for Ballet West, Pioneer Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Central Utah Ballet, and Lagoon Amusement Park. Prior to coming to the Utah Opera, Dusty was the Charge Artist for The Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, AL and for Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, FL. Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2002 with an MFA in Scenic Design/Scenic Art, Dusty taught at Oklahoma State University as a Visiting Assistant Professor. There she taught design/tech classes, and designed scenery and sound for mainstage shows. Dusty’s professional design credits include designing scenery for ASF’s 2008 The Beaux Stratagem and Riverside’s 2015 World Premier of Poodleful. In 2000, she worked as a Scenic Art Intern at the Denver Center Theatre Company for the World Premier Production of Tantalus in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has also worked at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Lost Colony, Park Square Theatre, Music Theatre of Wichita, Surflight Theatre and Co-productions with Walnut St. Theatre. While attending grad school in the Twin Cities, Dusty worked with various theatres and production companies as an Assistant Scenic Designer, Charge Artist and Scenic Artist. She also worked for Vstar Entertainment Group, painting backdrops and props for Sesame Street Live and Dragon Tales Live. While in Montgomery, Dusty had the pleasure to work as a Scenic Designer and Production Manager for the Alabama Dance Theatre, as well as a muralist for the Montgomery Zoo and the Alabama State Archives. You can follow Dusty on Instagram @dustyscenic or Flickr @https://www.flickr.com/photos/dustykaystutsman/.
Kathryn Wieland is a graduate of BYU – Idaho’s apparel program and has put her degree to use in multiple shops. With a passion for costumes, she’s been in both the dance and live theater world; most recently seizing the opportunity to stitch for Utah Opera. From being at the machine to working wardrobe behind stage, she loves it all!
Carol Wood has a varied career path. With an MA in linguistics, Carol spent 20 years in that field teaching and researching. The switch to costumes professionally started with smaller theaters in California and landed her at San Francisco Opera as Assistant Draper where she worked for 11 years. After a few years as Costume Director at Middlebury College, Carol has been the Costume Director at Utah Opera since 2023.