Margaret Baker
Contributing Writer
Emily has had quite the feast on her creative plate lately, designing both the set and poster for the Pocahontas County Drama Workshop’s production of “Catch Me If You Can.”
In 2022, she was working as an event coordinator in Dallas, Texas, in charge of team bonding. Her job was to plan food, fun and facilities as they related to keeping the employees of Custom Inc., happy. When a decision was made up the ladder that the contentment of its workers was no longer a priority, everyone in her entire division lost their jobs. Emily’s parents were living in Dunmore so she decided to head for the hills and see if she could make a go of it in Pocahontas County.
At first, Emily, a University of Texas art major, was able to work remotely as a graphic designer for Viz, producers of Manga graphic novels and she acquired some part-time work at the Hillsboro Library. Though Emily is now the head librarian at Hillsboro, she still does design work for Viz.
“Librarian by day, graphic designer by night,” she jokes.
Once the Pocahontas County Drama Workshop discovered her design talents, she was immediately recruited to design the costumes for the 2024 production of the mafia spoof “Breaking Legs.” In 2025, she was presented with the unique challenge of creating a believable tractor for “Deera’s Country Funeral.” After rejecting the idea of carving the tractor out of foam, she and director Eric Fritzius opted for a “farm trash art installation.” Emily says she doesn’t like to spend more than three dollars for anything, so she scrounged coils, springs, chicken wire, doodads and rusted what-nots and created a very believable, if totally whimsical 3-D tractor assemblage.
When asked about the challenges of designing for “Catch Me If You Can,” she said that in addition to “a lot of doors” the play is set in the 60s and requires a hunt for period furniture and props. She loves the 60s modern style, however, which she has incorporated into the poster.
“Catch Me If You Can” also calls for a large moose head which she was fully prepared to make having templates for a Mexican alebrije event “just lying around.” Director Jeff Marcum absolved her of that task and is on a quest to locate a taxidermist who has a real one just lying around.
Emily says she is very happy working behind the scenes. She’s been involved in technical theater since fifth grade. Though her sisters and brothers are actors and dancers she says she “cried and threw a fit” when a teacher tried to talk her into going on stage.
“I do enjoy designing for the theater,” she said, “the scrappiness of it. It’s a big creative puzzle.”
She is currently working on a project of her own, “bedazzling” a giant ceramic fruit with an eye to turning it into a chandelier.
Those looking forward to being bedazzled by Emily’s set design can see the play “Catch Me If You Can” Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, September 13, at 2 p.m. at the Pocahontas County Opera House.
