Mauren Jones-Periera, BFA Costume Design ’07
Tim Jones, BFA Scenic Design ’08
Mauren recalls, “I remember meeting Tim in scenic construction class during my second semester. Since we were both from Northern Virginia, he introduced himself and we kept running into each other.” Tim chimes in, “We ended up socializing at VCU and developed a deep mutual trust and respect, which is a pretty high bar.”
After graduating, Mauren worked for the Richmond Ballet in the costume shop before attending graduate school at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She explains, “After I finished my thesis, I decided to treat myself to a trip and was looking for a travel buddy.”
Tim was working in New York, and when he saw her post on social media, “I got a ticket to London and said, ‘Let’s go see some of the world.'” They traveled to Croatia and Italy for two weeks. Afterwards they decided, “When you’re working in theatre, it’s hard to maintain a relationship. We didn’t want to go into it lightly.”
After they returned to the US, Mauren explains, “I was figuring out what to do stateside and Tim started making a pitch for New York. When she got there, Mauren worked for John Kristiansen (BFA ’90) (link to the Nov ’19 edition of the newsletter for John’s profile) at his custom costume shop for four years, Tim was a Local One stagehand. They continued to work in New York until 2014, when they moved back to Virginia.
Kevin McGranahan (Scene Shop Foreman) officiated at their wedding in Madison VA, at the family homestead of another VCU grad, Caitlin Stafford (’07) that has been turned into wedding venue. Mauren exclaims, “We had seven theatre techs in our wedding party of eight people.”
They now live nearby in Paris, Va. Mauren’s family owned a drapery business and “I swore I’d never go back to it.” She now owns her own workroom there named Le Atelier doing fabrication for the interior design industry. “I’ll hire a theatre kid, because they’re hard workers and have an attention to detail and a drive that you don’t often find outside the industry. One of my administrators is a VCU alumni (Daina Schoof BFA ’09).”
Tim is a Project Manager at a materials research lab for the National Concrete Masonry Association. When he thinks back to his earlier path, Tim explains, “I crammed in a lifetime of theatre in NYC. The experience at VCU and in theatre helped hone my skills across the board every day.”
They have a devoted small dog named Agador Spartacus, after the house boy in The Bird Cage, “because he’s a tiny poodle with black hair and doesn’t like to wear shoes.”
Looking back to VCU, Tim comments, “We think about Kevin McGranahan a lot. He was a really supportive figure for students in the tech department. He taught us the ethics of professional courtesy and safety.”
Compiled by Liz Hopper (professor emeritus) and Jerry Williams (BFA ’71) for the February 2022 Theatre Alumni newsletter