Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Shelby Joiner has been worked across the Valley for nearly a decade. Trained in a variety of costuming capacitates ranging from Crafts to First Hand, Shelby has 8 years of professional experience as a Textile Technician specializing in painting and dyeing. She began her education at Arizona State University as an Art Studies major and spent multiple summers expanding her knowledge at the Ah Haa School for the Arts in Telluride, CO.

Arizona Opera gave Shelby her start in costume production. She began as a costume intern in 2015 and was part of the inaugural year for the NextGen Production Apprentice Program. Since then, she has worked as local wardrobe crew for Broadway National Tours, stitched for pop stars like P!nk and Ariana Grande, and cultivated a passion for teaching. Sharing her love of textiles, chemistry, and color theory through the medium of painting and dyeing has been a career highlight. Shelby is grateful to Arizona Opera for providing these opportunities to grow as an educator and for helping her build a thriving career in the industry.

Shelby is the owner of SJ DyeWorks, for which she designs, dyes, and creates custom fiber art pieces for the stage and her boutique jewelry line. Trained at the Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy in Scottsdale, Shelby also freelances as a Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer. Looking ahead, Shelby is dedicated to helping cultivate safe, equitable, and inclusive spaces for all artists, so lives can be transformed with the art of story-telling through music and theatre both on and off stage.