By Katerina Rodriguez / Staff Writer
Fashion design and medieval art may sound like strange bedfellows, but for FIU assistant costume design professor Marina Pareja, pursuing these two passions has proved to be an incredibly rewarding journey of self-discovery.
On Aug. 3 and via its first virtual ceremony, Pareja was awarded the Carbonell Award, South Florida’s Theater and Arts Honor. She was a part of the Zoetic Stage’s theater production of “Sweeney Todd,” which earned itself 12 Carbonell Awards, the most in the ceremony’s history.
“Winning this award was so meaningful because it came from my city and from my peers–I’m not looking for awards, I didn’t even know I had won it right away. The recognition was everything,” she said.
Born in Peru to a household filled with paintings, literature, and music, Pareja had hoped to become a school teacher after moving to the U.S.
As she worked through her associate’s degree at Miami Dade College, she quickly realized being a school teacher was not her passion.
“I felt like I needed to make a u-turn and choose another major,” she said. “I was remembering the love for the arts and fashion I had back home when I decided to major in fashion design.”
After gravitating towards the more creative world of fashion design, it wasn’t long before she had found another passion.
“I began to cultivate my love for the arts, specifically the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and worked tirelessly on my portfolio before applying for the arts program at FIU,” said Pareja.
Following her acceptance into the program, she began transitioning towards an art history degree, as a way to combine her love for teaching, learning, and creating.
“The liberal arts department allowed me to extend my wings–my passion is theater–not one aspect of it, but every aspect,” said Pareja. “I fell in love with the department because they didn’t try to box me into one thing–I could try everything.”
Already an experienced seamstress, and instilled with the love of art from her childhood in Peru, Pareja began to look for avenues to perfect her craftwork.
“To pursue this new passion, I moved to Scotland to study design for a few years before receiving a call from a previous FIU professor I had, that would give me just the opportunity I was looking for,” said Pareja.
The teaching role she was offered at FIU, afforded her the opportunity to share this new passion.
Pareja works not only alongside the FIU theater department but also with other business professionals who are involved in high-budgeted theatrical productions.
“Professional productions in Miami have a different type of budget than school. While for FIU I may get six weeks to prepare costumes with the help of students, my professional work is much more time-constrained,” said Pareja.
According to Pareja, her industry experience has helped deal with the fast paced environment of costume design.
“I can deal with the tricky timeframe even when the shows overlap and I have several to work on in a given season,” she said.
However, tight deadlines did not stop the award winning creative and educator from offering a bit of advice to any students who may want to pursue a similar career path in costume design.
“Make sure it is your passion and be ready to work for it along with all the good and bad times that may follow,” said Pareja.
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