Department of Theatre and Dance

• M.F.A.  Michigan State University
• B.F.A.  University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
• Costume Design, Costume Technology, Makeup

Martha A. Marking designed costumes at the Utah Shakespearean Festival for seven years and was a cutter/draper for three years. Other professional credits include the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and the Blowing Rock Stage Company. She served as USITT’s (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) Vice President for Members, Sections, and Chapters, and was Chair of the USITT Southeast Section for five years. Martha published a chapter about the renowned milliner Arnold S. Levine in Theatre Artisans and Their Craft: The Allied Arts Fields. She has written several articles for Theatre Design and Technology Magazine including Chain Mail Techniques from the Utah Shakespearean Festival, A Costume Facilities Checklist.  She also wrote Jane Greenwood: Surviving (and Thriving) on Broadway for 55 years for Southern Theatre Magazine. Martha served as the Co-Editor of Projects for Teaching Costume Design and Technology, volume 2, for USITT’s Costume Commission.

Martha has been active in the university community, serving on numerous university and college committees, including chairing the Faculty Senate for two terms and the Early Intervention team from 2009 to 2025. She has served on the Faculty Grievance Hearing Committee, the Grievance Assistance Committee, and the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee, among others. She is currently the chair of the university’s Late Withdrawal Committee. Martha received Appalachian's highest service award, the W. H. Plemmons Leadership Medallion, in 2017, the Faculty Senate Mountaineer Award in 2026, a Board of Governors' College Teaching Award, and three Outstanding Service awards from the College of Fine and Applied Arts. Martha has completed the 40-hour North Carolina Office of State Human Resources Employment Mediation Training, and Mental Health USA First Aid certification.