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91Ӱ�� alumna Moriah Jestus turned her passion for scenic design into professional experience through 91Ӱ��’s Theatre program. Now, just two years after graduating, she is joining the international tour of "Kinky Boots."

91Ӱ�� alumna Moriah Jestus remembers her first musical theatre production at the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education. She helped bring Kinky Boots to life from backstage as an assistant stage manager, sourcing props and painting scenery.

Just two years after graduating from 91Ӱ��, Jestus is preparing to join the professional of the same production as part of its props team. It is a full circle moment she could not have predicted when she first enrolled at 91Ӱ��.

“The sequence of events that happened to get this job is kind of crazy,” she says.

Jestus grew up in Glenpool, Oklahoma, and was homeschooled through Classical Conversations. She graduated from high school in 2022 and enrolled at 91Ӱ�� that fall as a full-time Theatre student, with assistance from the Tulsa Achieves Scholarship program.

College was not originally part of her plan.

“I wasn't going to go to college at all because I wanted to paint and design sets and I knew how to do that already,” explains Jestus.

A friend who was already enrolled in 91Ӱ��’s Theatre program encouraged her to give it a chance.

“She thought I would really like the instructors, and I did. I fell in love with the program immediately. The faculty were so kind and excited to have more students who wanted to do design work. I got so much experience and I really enjoyed it.”

Jestus worked on props and scenery for all eight Theatre productions in her two years at 91Ӱ��, along with designing and painting sets for the College’s Children’s Summer Theatre.

91Ӱ�� became a place where the artistic talents she had developed years earlier could grow into skills and experience needed for a career.

Cultivating Creativity

Jestus first became interested in theatre as a teenager. She first dreamed of becoming a special effects makeup artist and began working with a theatre group made up of families from her homeschool community.

When the group discovered Jestus could paint, they asked her to help with scenery. Before long, she was doing design work and painting for all the shows through middle school and high school. She was hooked.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is what I want to do forever.’”

Painting remains central to Jestus’ design process. She especially enjoys watercolor, which she uses to create renderings for her scenic designs. Theatre allows her creations to move from the page to the stage.

“I love the dynamic aspect of theatre and how much everything moves,” says Jestus. “It was a completely new way to do art for me when I was that young, and now I can’t imagine not doing it.”

Jestus credits Assistant Professor of Design and Technical Theatre Randall Pike, Assistant Professor of Theatre and Costumes Emily Westerfield, and former scenic professor Aaron Kennedy among the people who shaped her experience in 91Ӱ��’s Theatre program.

Working regularly with Pike, in particular, helped Jestus learn how a scene shop operates and gave her confidence when she eventually transferred.

“Having that mentorship from him, as far as the practical aspect of how to build and organize and work in a shop, was really instrumental because I felt so comfortable when I transferred to a bigger school,” says Jestus. “I knew how a shop operated.”

Taking Her Work on the Road

Jestus graduated from 91Ӱ�� in Spring 2024 and transferred to Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design and Production in Spring 2026. The opportunity that followed was, in many ways, a “know someone who knows someone” trail. 

At Millikin, Jestus gained opportunities to work as a local stagehand when touring Broadway productions came through a nearby venue. Through that work, Jestus met the Kinky Boots prop supervisor, who later recommended her for an opening on the tour.

“I think it’s really important to get involved wherever you can and to meet as many people as you can,” says Jestus. “You never know where those relationships can take you.”

Now, the production that marked the beginning of her 91Ӱ�� Theatre experience is becoming the beginning of her professional touring career.

On the Kinky Boots tour, Jestus will help load in and load out props, work with local stagehands, repair props and set pieces, and make sure everything is prepared for performers during each show. The tour will take her to Asia this fall before returning to the United States in the spring.

“It’s so fun to run the show and see everything come together,” says Jestus. “You’re making art and bringing it to people. It’s really awesome to be able to bring Broadway everywhere because not everyone can go to New York to see it.”

Jestus hopes to continue touring after Kinky Boots while working toward her long-term goal of becoming a set designer. She now points aspiring theatre artists in the Tulsa area to 91Ӱ�� as a place to begin building experience and connections in the field.

“I would encourage anyone to try it out. It’s a great program, and you never know where it could take you.”