Mary Alice Groat

Costume Designer

2026, she/her MFA, Costume Design

Mary Alice Groat is a graduating Master of Fine Arts candidate in Costume Design in the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Technology with a minor in Studio Arts from the University at Buffalo. She is also the 2026 recipient of the Crystal Marie Gomes Memorial Award in Costume Design.
Mary Alice is a costume designer, craftsperson, and fine artist with a strong interest in color, historical clothing and period research. Her creative work spans a wide range of theatrical performance, including opera, plays, dance, and musical theatre. Most recently, Mary Alice’s designs could be seen in the School of Drama’s production of Company, which opened in April 2026. Other design productions include Ghosts at Carnegie Mellon University; A Life in the Theatre with Kinetic Theatre in Pittsburgh; and Guys and Dolls, Julius Caesar, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown at the University at Buffalo. Mary Alice has also worked as a costume design assistant, a dresser on national tours, and a costume PA on Mayor of Kingstown.

Work Samples

Ghosts

By Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Carlos Martinez
Costume Design by Mary Alice Groat
CMU School of Drama – February 2024
Photo by Louis Stein

A Life in the Theatre

By David Mamet
Directed by Andrew Paul
Costume Design by Mary Alice Groat
Kinetic Theatre – Pittsburgh, June 2024
Photo by Rocky Raco

Guys and Dolls

Music by Frank Loesser, Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Directed by Keith Andrews
Costume Design by Mary Alice Groat
University at Buffalo Department of Theatre & Dance – November 2019
Photo by Stefan Ludwig