Karen June Gilmer is a Teaching Associate Professor of Costume Design in the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, where she blends artistry, scholarship, and mentorship to help students cultivate their creative voices. She designs costumes and directs for departmental productions, contributes to key departmental initiatives, and teaches courses including Costume Design I, Introduction to Theatre Design, Directing I, and Introduction to Performance.
Karen earned her BA in French from West Chester University and an MFA in Costume Design from Boston University, a path that has taken her across the country and around the world. Her extensive work in opera, theatre, and dance includes favorite productions such as Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, She Kills Monsters, The Mousetrap, Marie Antoinette, The Scottsboro Boys, Intimate Apparel, The Royale, All My Sons, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Way of the World, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Carmen Jones, and Rodeo with Point Park Dance Company.
Her regional and national credits include Orlando Shakes, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, Quantum Theatre, City Theatre Company, St. Michael’s Playhouse, Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, Walnut Street Theatre, University of the Arts, Arden Theatre Company, and Everyman Theatre Company in Baltimore.
A significant and transformational chapter of Karen’s professional journey was her Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad in Senegal, where she immersed herself in West African performance traditions, textile practices, and cultural aesthetics. Her time in Senegal deepened her understanding of global design vocabularies, strengthened her commitment to culturally responsive pedagogy, and continues to shape the ways she fosters connection, resilience, and cross-cultural literacy in the classroom and rehearsal room.
Karen is also a theatrical intimacy professional, committed to building trauma‑informed, culturally competent, and brave creative spaces—especially for BIPOC artists. Her intimacy coordination extends into film as well, with an IMDb credit for intimacy coordination on A Princess from Nowhere, reflecting her dedication to safe and consensual storytelling across mediums.
Throughout her career, Karen has been recognized with awards and grants celebrating her excellence in costume design, innovations in curriculum, dedication to Black excellence in service.