Taylor Blais
Summer Ensemble 2024
Designer, Artistic Producer
Taylor Blais is a seamstress and prop maker for theatre and film. She is also a cosplayer, making her own costumes and competing in craftsmanship competitions at conventions with them since 2016. Taylor is a member of Summer Ensemble 2024.
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About Taylor Blais
Taylor Blais is a 21-year-old seamstress and propmaker from Brampton, Ontario with formal training from the Technical Production for the Performing Arts Industry Program at Sheridan College. She is also a Cosplayer and has been making costumes and props to wear at conventions such as Toronto Comicon and Fan Expo since 2016. She runs her own social media pages on TikTok and Instagram where she shares these creations and cosplays online with the community through short videos, photo shoots and work-in-progress photos.
With the costumes that she makes, Taylor also competes in craftsmanship cosplay competitions where she has been awarded Best in Show and for Advanced Craftsmanship. Cosplay and theatre inspire Taylor to keep trying new art forms and motivate her to continue to practice all kinds of skills related to the industries including, but not limited to: sewing, 3-D Printing and modelling, patterning, soldering, foam-smithing, wig styling, special effects makeup, vinyl cutting, woodworking, photography, embroidery, beading and painting as well as participating in photoshoots, YouTube videos and events for cosplay.
She also makes custom costumes, props and art for individuals in the cosplay community since 2017, with customers in the United States and Canada. Recently in her cosplay and sewing career, she has become more active in advocating to eliminate the fast fashion portion of the cosplay and theatre industry and hopes to be able to teach others these skills and encourage others to build their own cosplays as well.
Taylor is a member of the Summer Ensemble 2024 program.
Education
Since 2016, Taylor has had a passion for theatre. She began her involvement with theatre by operating follow spots, painting murals and stage managing her high school’s arts festivals. In 2023, Taylor graduated with high honours from the Technical Production for the Performing Arts Industry program with a concentration in wardrobe and props. During her 3 years in this program, she was awarded outstanding achievement in Paint, Wardrobe and Techincal Production respectively. While attending the program, she was a part of the wardrobe, props and paint crew and worked on shows such as Spring Awakening, Head Over Heels and Jesus Christ Superstar. While working on these shows, she gained experience styling wigs, applying special effects makeup, painting sets, completing quick changes and building costumes and props. Taylor will also be continuing her studies at Sheridan College in the fall of 2024 through the Makeup for Media and Creative Arts program.
Work Experience
Taylor is a freelance and commission-based artist, making costumes and props for individuals in the cosplay community since 2017. In 2022, Taylor participated in the Bronte BIA: At Home in Bronte event where she designed and painted her own chair to be displayed in Bronte. Recently, Taylor has taught and co-hosted a sewing skills workshop in Brampton at the Brampton Arts Organization’s Open Studio. She also worked as a program tutor, assisting students in the Technical Production program at Sheridan College.
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Summer Ensemble is a one of a kind work experience for artists pursuing a career in the Canadian theatre industry.