Quinn’s teaching, scholarship, and professional interests are centered around researching, designing, and creating modern theatrical costumes as well as historical costumes and clothing. In addition, she studies connections between 19th and early 20th century clothing and ballroom dance. At Boston College, Quinn teaches courses in costume design and construction, makeup design, costume history, and historical ballroom dance. She also designs the costumes for four Theatre Department productions each year in addition to mentoring student costume designers.
In addition to her work on academic productions, Quinn has designed and created costumes for a range of theatre and film companies including Tufts University Children’s Theatre, Mount Holyoke College, Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre, The Huntington Theatre Company, and 20th Century Fox. Additionally, Quinn has designed and consulted on historical costumes for documentaries and award-winning short films; created historical clothing for display and educational use in museums and institutions including Plimoth Patuxet Museums, Old Sturbridge Village, Historic Northampton, and the U.S. National Park Service; and shared costume history through presentations at historical institutions including the Newport Historical Society and the Rhode Island Historical Society. Her work has been featured on WBUR, Boston’s largest National Public Radio station. Additionally, Quinn has studied historical ballroom dance and its connections to clothing at conferences in the United States and Europe. Prior to joining the Boston College faculty, Quinn supervised the costume shop at Boston College for over 10 years, during which she worked on costumes for over 65 BC Theatre Department productions, including Noises Off, Murder on the Nile, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, Evita, The Servant of Two Masters, The Misanthrope, Waiting For Lefty, Learning How to Drown, Three Sisters, and The 39 Steps.
