Elise Maynard is a third-year PhD candidate in the Theatre and Performance department, holding a BA in Costume Production (2017) and an MSc in Art, Law, and Business (2019). Her research centers on the ballet design work of Julia Trevelyan Oman, aiming to recover and reassess Oman’s contributions to the late 20th-century stage. Drawing on her professional background in costume making, she integrates practical techniques into her scholarship, employing material culture, experimental history, and practice-as-research methodologies to deepen the understanding of historical design practices.

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Her work explores the intersections of performance, design, and cultural history, with particular attention to how design choices shape the cultural significance and audience reception of major productions. She is especially interested in the role of nostalgia in costume design and its influence on contemporary interpretations of historical performance. More broadly, her research seeks to highlight the often-overlooked contributions of designers in shaping theatrical meaning and memory.

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In addition to her work on Julia Trevelyan Oman, she is developing new research on post-colonial interpretations of ballet design and its place within the modern canon, with forthcoming contributions to edited volumes and conference presentations. Her upcoming publication on experimental history practices examines the reconstruction of a Victorian garment from a historical fashion magazine using traditional making techniques and a period-accurate dress form, offering insights into the translatability of historical fashion media into practical methodologies.