The Chart Online

Theater bug bites Jaros during high school
Andrew McGowan

Chart Reporter

Inside an office that used to be two closets, Anne Jaros, associate professor of theatre, has been designing costumes or directing student designers for the past 14 years.

Growing up in Chicago, Jaros always wanted to be a nurse, but was bitten by the theater bug in high school when she was asked to sew costumes for a play.

I got to come in on the top because I was the only one who knew how to sew, she said.

She has certainly stayed on top, having designed or overseen costume design for more then 110 plays, including Carousel, Camelot, Antigone and You re A Good Man Charlie Brown, just to name a few.

Jaros continued to struggle with theater versus nursing through high school and college. After years of trying to decide between the two, she chose the theater.

If I could play for a living, why should I work? Jaros said.

Jaros continued her education but with a new emphasis. In 1976, she received her bachelor s of fine arts in theater design and technology from the University of Illinois, and in 1982 she received her master s of fine arts in theater design from Northwestern University.

Jaros joined the staff at Missouri Southern in 1989 after teaching at State University of New York, college at Geneseo and Northwestern University.

She teaches more than 15 different sections of theater including four of Theatre Appreciation.

I really like teaching, she said.

Her students reveal that love as well.

She is fun and exciting to have in class, she makes everything exciting and interesting to learn, said Philip Cross, junior mass communications major.

Jaros has found her niche at Southern. She enjoys the ability to work with undergraduate students, whereas at a larger university none of the undergraduates get to do the designing or directing only the post-graduates.

In 1991, Jaros took a trip to Russia and Czechoslovakia to study Russian influence on theater.

The origins of modern theater, acting and directing are in Russia. In particular, Jaros found the designers from the beginning of the century fascinating.

It s like visiting the homeland for theater people, Jaros said.

Currently, Jaros is concentrating a large amount of her time on Rhakshasah s Ring a play to appear on the stage at Southern. The play has 40 characters but only 18 actors.

Jaros picked out the fabric for the costumes while on a visit to Chicago this summer. This is due to the limited supply of textiles in the Joplin area.

Jaros designs all her costumes by hand.

People are starting to jump off the [computer] bandwagon and rediscovering the art of costume design, Jaros said.

She is also learning new things and facing new challenges in her personal life. In May, Jaros adopted an 8-year-old girl. There has been some difficulty in reorganizing her life around her new family, but it has all been worth it.

In her 14 years of teaching, Jaros is starting to see some fruits of her labor. She is quick to point out the formula for making it in the real world.

Students who make it aren t the smartest and they aren t the most talented, Jaros said. The students who make it are determined.