Ben Argenta Kress Ben Kress Costume Design
COSTUME DESIGNER / VISUAL ARTIST

GRADUATE PROGRAM WORK
Select Design Work for Northwestern University's MFA in Stage Design, anticipated completion Spring 2024. Click on Show Title or production image for expanded view.
Fall 2022
Director: Rives Collins
In a new musical for young audiences, an ensemble cast tells the story of a young Jane Goodall discovering her dreams. In the spirit of Jane Goodall's environmental work, the design provided audience a visual scavenger hunt of upcycled and repurposed materials as the ensemble became different animals and characters.
Spring 2023
Director: Tor Campbell
Designed for Northwesterns MFA Collaboration Series in the 100-seat Wallis Theater, this production brought audiences face to face with Lynn Nottage's characters. With this intimate experience, the design focused on details of the clothing and development of character over the timeline of the play.

Fall 2023
Director: Tor Campbell
Designs for the Prom used Drag and Camp as touchstones to support larger-than-life characters and add some fresh color to the rural Indiana town in which the story takes place.
click through for more production and design photos
Winter 2024
Director: Francesca Patron
Designs for The Clean House explored color and elements of magical realism to bring this story about the messiness of love to life.

Spring 2024
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Director: Manna-Symone Middlebrooks
Stay tuned for Design and Production Photos for this Afrocentric/Afrofuturist/Eco-Conscious reimagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest, examining the consequences of human greed and ambition.
Paper Projects
unrealized, theoretical design projects (section under construction)

