Author JERKBAIT, SOMEBODY TOLD ME, "The Children," rep by Sera Rivers. Self-Taught Costume Designer. Cosplayer. Mental Health Advocate. Bigender. Still doesn't understand Tumblr.
We reopened our Etsy a little earlier than anticipated as one of our cats Oscar needs to see a Cardiologist. :( Although we have cat insurance, that will be approximately $3000 out-of-pocket. We don't know when we'll be reimbursed, we just need to get the initial appointment to make sure he's safe.
We will be posting several costumes that are ready to be retired from our rental set. Pink Sillabub is the first one. She has been through five productions (Interlakes, Witchita, Algonquin, The Fulton, and CM Productions). Wig is in great shape considering the usage, unitard is very faded but nice/durable, warmers unfortunately are very holey. We are asking $125 for the whole costume plus shipping.
Bust 33-35", Waist 24-27", Hip 35-38", with stretch to definitely go larger or smaller (we always do conservative sizing estimates but we use a very high-quality performance lycra). If one's not performing, there's more leeway on sizing.
For an additional fee, we'd be willing to add pink dye to her unitard but there's a chance it might be splotchy in the steamer as she's already sewn together and not flat. I could use dye-na-flow paint for an additional fee, but I'm not sure that's worth it.
Other costumes will be listed.
For custom commissions, we're open and unfortunately did have to raise prices due to tariffs. The acid dye process takes a long time with many layers of steaming and washing and materials, and we're doing fluffies another way now. For wigs, we bought as much as we could in 2024 from IKickShins before she shut down due to her cancer-treatment, and now to get hair that caliber, we have to order either overseas or do a 5-hr RT drive.
Please forgive this belated post--trying to avoid too many personal details but I've been dealing with a few health issues and some changes in my personal life that have been draining and exhausting. I'm not sure where to begin to fill people in (but really, we know what's coming).
So let me break this down for all you nerds like me (or well, I'm assuming y'all are nerds like me--if not, I appreciate all of you so much for being so kind and pretending you're just as nerdy as me!)
Part 1.
I wanted to share that THE NAMES WE BURIED is live for preorder anywhere books are sold. I am linking it with Amazon but please, if possible, use your local independent bookstore. If you cannot afford the book but would like to support me, use the library which is especially convenient with the free library app Libby. I will get PAID.
My only request--please do not tag me in negative reviews for my books because sometimes I see them. I will never google my own books unless I need to look up something for my agent or publisher/team so I promise I'll never see them otherwise. If I'm tagged, sometimes I can't avoid that and think I'm supposed to see it. Authors are a bunch of awkward introverts with imposter syndrome. I'm absolutely happy to discuss the book but please understand that when the book is published... it's published. I cannot change it. If there's something you feel very strongly about, please contact the publisher directly.
Part 2.
I am dealing with a bit of a not-quite doxxing situation, but very close. Because he all but said it, S--stop it. As soon as I change servers, I literally will forget about you. I shouldn't be in your head rent free and saying I deserve it because I'm "lgbtq+" (amazing I can be all the letters at the same time!) and that's my whole identity (you're SO close!!! maybe you'll get it some day!), yeah. Just leave me alone. Please.
Part 3.
Okay, THIS is the part you've been waiting for.
CATS fans, I am thrilled to share that thanks to your incredible support, we won the Central Pennsylvania Broadway World Award for Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical for CATS at The Fulton! This is something that I dreamed about, and when we took on the job I worked extremely hard in hopes we could pull it off. We brainstormed with the director and assistant director, we worked with the team, we talked with fandom and remembered what it was like being Superfans ourselves (which everyone forgets--because we're old). I think about bursting a blood vessel in my palm and losing mobility in my hand that I still haven't recovered, about the close friendships I made, the saves I had, and how we survived now just the Fulton but Casa Manana, the Pitman, and my book deadline ALL within the same year, within months.
I am exhausted and burned out beyond belief, but so, so, so very grateful.
We are requesting a bit more patience to re-open our shop and to consider possibly, when we do, the order going through Paypal F&F because of the tariffs and major expenses taken out from Etsy (though of course we understand if people want the security). We will be selling some of the Fulton costumes that were damaged and near retirement, some that might be nice collector pieces for some of you, or maybe fine for some cosplays, but not stage acceptable for what we do. Those will be sold as-is and we will try to document as much as possible for full transparency.
Again, thank you so much for your incredible support for this huge win, and thank you for your patience as I know it's been significantly longer than anticipated. We're exhausted.
ETA: there is a chance it might just say David Williamson for now... they are having some tech issues. :)
CATS family, thank you SO much for all your support and hard work! Also apologies for me being so quiet--I'm under a huge book deadline and am exhausted! I also had my birthday and it was really nice.
We currently are FIRST at Broadway World Central PA for Costume Design!
If you would be so kind as to vote for Mia Siegert & David Williamson for Best Costume Design for CATS at the Fulton that would be so very appreciated. Other people in the show are nominated as well so please consider!
also yes, I know there's a typo with my last name and apparently David was so good, he was nominated twice independently! We've submitted correction forms (but if anyone else wants to submit corrections, of course that's welcome!) My last name is spelled Siegert, not Seigert. And we're both the designers so it's Mia Siegert & David Williamson with our program billing.
Thank you so much for your patience.
Broadway World Nominations: The Fulton (Please Help!)
Hi friends,
We are up for nominations for CATS at The Fulton!
We would love your support--all of us, not just David and I, but it would absolutely mean the world to us if you put in Mia Siegert and David Williamson for CATS at The Fulton for Costume Design. Please don't forget Richard Carsey (music direction), Jeffrey D. Kmiec (scenic design), Paul Black (lighting design), and Josh Allamon (sound design). I know all of you know Marc!
For a list of the creative team and cast, you can check out the wiki here.
There are so many people that I hope get nominated, but I really hope people consider Will Mann and James Patterson. Will Mann brought such an unique portrayal of Deut and is so lovely and so many BIPOC performers get snubbed, and James is a chaotic good amazing person who keeps getting overlooked (he was Munk at the end of Tour IV. There is one photo of him. One.
I am trying to find out the links/which section for Casa Manana--do any of you smart people happen to know where it is? We would be eligible for costume design there too.
Broadway World Nominations: The Fulton (Please Help!)
Hi friends,
We are up for nominations for CATS at The Fulton!
We would love your support--all of us, not just David and I, but it would absolutely mean the world to us if you put in Mia Siegert and David Williamson for CATS at The Fulton for Costume Design. Please don't forget Richard Carsey (music direction), Jeffrey D. Kmiec (scenic design), Paul Black (lighting design), and Josh Allamon (sound design). I know all of you know Marc!
For a list of the creative team and cast, you can check out the wiki here.
There are so many people that I hope get nominated, but I really hope people consider Will Mann and James Patterson. Will Mann brought such an unique portrayal of Deut and is so lovely and so many BIPOC performers get snubbed, and James is a chaotic good amazing person who keeps getting overlooked (he was Munk at the end of Tour IV. There is one photo of him. One.
I am trying to find out the links/which section for Casa Manana--do any of you smart people happen to know where it is? We would be eligible for costume design there too.
Back when you were working on Fulton, you said there were specific reasons Bombalurina and Alonzo were pink and blue. Now that the show's done, can we know why (if you remember)?
Yes!
The D/C very much requested hot pink for Bombalurina (when asked) because he didn't want just red like the other productions and was thinking 80s when the hot pinks and neons were a thing. With Alonzo, in one of our promo pics from another production, there was a light that made Alonzo look blue. He asked about it and when we said no, he wasn't, he said he was a little bummed because that was his favorite color and thought the blue was pretty. So we offered to add blue to Alonzo just for him, and we liked it!
i'm not sure if you can disclose this or not about cats the pitman but i just had to ask - are we going to see any pink kitties make their debut (possibly again??) i'm still so hung up on all the color from fulton's production (i have fantazia in mind) and victoria with pink accents rotates around in my brain on loop, so i figured i'd ask :-)
This is a great question!
Unfortunately I can't answer this one BUT you should see promo pics soon (costume pick up on the 12th!) so stay tuned! There will be some brand new costumes that haven't been onstage before, there will be some from previous productions including the Fulton!
When we make decisions and pull costumes for rentals, we have to take actor measurements into consideration and also look at the ensemble for a very cohesive look, and lore is incredibly important. Sometimes certain costumes and decisions are based on this.
I'm cackling the most about Rumpus Cat right now because it's so ridiculous and hilarious (I so hope the fandom appreciates the jokes! I think y'all will but there's always a pang of anxiety and whether it'll fly or not!). But I really love the costumes we pulled and the director is very happy!
CATS at Broadway Theatre of Pitman (NJ, Oct 24 – Nov 16, 2025)
My post deleted when I tried to hit POST! OH NO! ANYWAY, CATS ALERT!!!
We are doing CATS at Broadway Theatre of Pitman (NJ, Oct 24 – Nov 16, 2025 (my bday!)) ! I'm not sure if I posted before--I'm so sorry if I didn't! Pitman is a very large community theatre with a nearly 1000 seat house! this should be a fun show and I've talked with the director Tyler Daddario for TWO YEARS as this is his dream show and he's finally bringing it to life. I hope if you're in the area you can come support it! It's important to support community theatre if possible since it's, well, community.
The cast is VERY large, and there will be costumes debuted that have NEVER been onstage before as well as ones from both the Fulton and Casa Manana and even some from Wichita and Interlakes! Bombalurina is almost 6'! We LOVE a tall queen! VERY diverse cast and a LOT of costumes!
Cannot confirm or deny Green Eyes with a twist (Do I have something in my eye? WINK WINK WINK.) Cannot confirm or deny that something might NOT have been done before onstage and the director Tyler went wild when shown. Cannot confirm or deny that David and I have been crying laughing over how unbelievably dumb and tacky Rumpus Cat's design is--I normally don't get to do my deliberately "Bad" designs so getting the blessings to do this after I sent out my concept art is a blessing. I'm still laughing. I'm crying. You guys, seriously, it's so unbelievably dumb. It's amazing. PLEASE LAUGH AT HOW DUMB IT IS WHEN YOU SEE IT! I WILL BE VERY, VERY SAD IF YOU DON'T LAUGH!!!
Also the BIGGEST thanks to @cryptidvoidwritings, who I hired for warmer help and will have several sets in the show! We don't know yet what all will be pulled but once I do, we'll share which characters (well, one is a SECRET for now). I am so incredibly grateful for the extremely hard work and receptiveness to feedback since my hands are pretty busted up (although I will have some of my warmer sets in this and am knitting some as you know!). I hope you love the show when you get to see it!
For the next two weeks, I am on a MAJOR writing/editing deadline.
Apologies for any inconvenience. I'm going to try to post the CATS pics when the costumes come back but I hope you can have a little more patience. I just saw my cover. I'm crying, it's so incredible.
I'm under major deadline for Connecticon so I'm going to be sparse. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding--actually making cosplays for myself and David which is a treat in itself, so we want to enjoy it.
after scrolling through your blog and absolutely becoming obsessed with your stunning (and i mean stunning!!) costumes, i was wondering if you could share some close-ups of the collars? i'm absolutely fascinated by all the different designs, specially sillabub's! no worries if not, just a thought of a thought :-)
Aww! Thank you so much for the kind words! You just made my week! :)
I'm assuming you mean Fulton's Sillabub (just checking since we do a lot of shows!)? I will need to wait for the costumes to return as I didn't think to photograph the collars in advance as I had to borrow some tools to deconstruct and reconstruct at the costume shop there due to time constraints so that was absolutely an oversight on my end. If you need a picture before then, I'd recommend posting on the Fulton's instagram page asking if it's possible to see pictures of the collars (and necklaces!) for certain cats. Marketing is on top of that and the actors frequently check it as well.
I deconstructed and reconstructed a LOT of collars, and some were premade. I love when we make everything by hand but with my injury it wasn't possible so about 87-90% of the costumes were made by hand.
Again, thank you SO much! And if you're okay waiting just a little longer, I'm happy to get pictures (or if you need to do it sooner, insta's the way to go imo!)
Hello! I have a question about the Fulton costumes!
So, awhile ago you said that Carbuckety's costume was similar to Teazer's cause the actor for Buckets was a Teazer understudy/cover. I was wondering if there are any other cats that this is true for or if they just wear their primary costume when covering another role? For example, is Cettie pink because the actor is a Bomba cover or for other reasons?
Great question!
David is a specialist for swing/ensemble U/S costumes that can cover a variety of characters. Carbucketty covers Bomba, Demeter, and Rumple for example so there were several color palettes to keep in mind and with a design that’d be cohesive to the ensemble. We had a few u/s unitards for characters that wouldn’t work if there was a twodoshay like Macavity (who is understudied by Admetus, who’s green) but for Skimble, who Alonzo covered, he put on song pieces over the Alonzo since it was one number.
I don’t remember the full u/s list for the Fulton because there were a lot, and I’ll need to get the program to do so when I have a little more time (I am SWAMPED right now), but yes, tl;dr all of the u/s characters were designed with their ensemble to cover their roles and adhere to equity rules. I just can’t remember everyone with a cast of 36 plus two swings and another production of 24 coming up shortly!
We love seeing the fan theories and reviews, btw! The fan art is so cool too! It's so fascinating to us and we're excited that some important things came across because it's our job as designers to make sure some things happen! Huge team effort.
Happy to answer questions, assuming I'm allowed to answer them (contract stuff sometimes, and I try to avoid spoilers until a run is over but now just saw I could hide spoilers! Learning new things on Tumblr each day!)
Cats at Fulton observations, HCS and overall thoughts
Set in 2010
Jelly is gus granddaughter
Old Deut and Grizabella had Munk, Misto, Sillabub
Tugger - Demeter brother and sister tuggers older
Macavity - Bomba brother and sister Mac is older
Bomba and tugger had fantaza and Alonzo
Alonzo and Victoria are Mates
Cori and tanto are around old d a lot and seem like guards or spiritual advisers
SKIMBLE seems younger 20-30
Munk and tugger bff's??? (SKIMBLE song pillow fight and just general horseplay
During Grizabella the glamour cat Demeters part was private with Silla and Bombas was loud and public with everyone
Old d seems bitter toward Grizabella and during MOH he sings directly to her and seems mad until Silla starts singing
Grizabella did something to piss Bomba off bad
Demeter is so horny for Mac. She's not scared at all she just wants to fuck him
Bomba starts the Macacity fight after making sure Demeter didn't go with him
Macavity's feral frfr
Old d didn't get kidnapped till after the macavity fight
Bomba had Munks role as the main protector
Sillabub touched Grizabella right before she finished singing
Grizabella seems in pain like she is actively dying/really hurt. She collapses on stage a few times
Macavity was getting jumped at the end of the fight and old d showed up and tried to get everyone to stop and macavity used this to grab old d and use him to make sure he can escape
Peaks and policals replaced growltiger and the guy who played Gus was so funny. P&P Was kinda Romeo and Juliet esc setting wise and jelly and Gus sounded beautiful together
--------
Grizabella was the main attraction at the park and when Misto said he wanted to be a magician she said she would be his assistant to help drum up excitement for her son, but eventually Misto started to get more and more famous and the crowd didn't care about her much anymore. She got bitter and she abandoned them leaving old Deut to raise Misto and Sillabub alone. I think he was struggling so tugger and Bomba stepped up to help raise Sillabub since she was so young. Sillabub knows that old d and Grizabella are her parents though.
--------
Tugger was one of my favorites this man knew how to work the crowd and flirted with a bunch of people in the front row
Mungojerrie was such a jokester and kept interrupting parts and just being goofy
Even with 40ish cats it didn't feel like none of them belonged. Like in tecklenburg sometimes all the extras feel just like that extras but here everyone fit
It was so magic and bright and had the life that I feel like is missing in modern cats and seeing this show helped reunite my love for cats
Thanks so much for seeing and supporting our show!
I am so thrilled that it helped reunite your love and passion for CATS again. Thank you so, so, so much. That absolutely means the world to us.
So some thoughts/responses (Spoilery with relationships/family below so anyone coming to see it, please stop reading!)
Seriously cool with your interpretation (and some things are spot on!)! Below is mostly what we had in mind but PLEASE, absolutely take away what YOU want from the show. This is just because sometimes CATS creative stuff behind the scenes interests people with intent. But very much in vein with Ken Page, CATS can be anything. The below is really, REALLY just in case people were curious about what our creative process was with the show.
"Old Deut and Grizabella had Munk, Misto, Sillabub" - No. Munk and Grizzabella are Sillabub's parents. Misto is ageless and Grizzabella's dear friend, no relation. He and Jenny are the two cats who are happy to see Grizz return--basically their dear friend has come back.
"Tugger - Demeter brother and sister tuggers older" - Most likely not, but also cats so who knows!
"Macavity - Bomba brother and sister Mac is older" - No. At least from early meetings, Tugger and Mac are brothers, maybe half-brothers, which can be seen with make up and the dual coats. Although NOT confirmed, I strongly suspect that Deut is Macavity's father (possibly not Tugger's) because of the way Deut approached the fight scene with that staging. He was physically pulling the other cats off of Mac, then reaching out... with how betrayed he feels by Grizzabella and how he acts towards her versus seeing Macavity physically violent and rushing into protect--that feels like a parent-move to me, which I think makes it much more cinematic.
Munk is not the third brother/they are not doing the three-brothers theory.
"Bomba and tugger had fantaza and Alonzo" - I wouldn't be surprised if Alonzo is Bombalurina's kitten, but not sure with who--but Katie Sina confirmed that Jellylorum is having her third litter of kittens, and in the past two litters, her kittens were Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, and Skimbleshanks. Tugger is the parent of one of those litters. Unconfirmed with which litter. Remember, cat rules, not human rules. :)
"Alonzo and Victoria are Mates." Yes! The King and Queen of the ball.
"Cori and tanto are around old d a lot and seem like guards or spiritual advisers"- Nailed it. They are his guards who, by fluke, are extremely ethereal. Cori has a sun collar and Tanto has the moon.
"SKIMBLE seems younger 20-30" - It's hard to compare cat ages to human ages but definitely he's younger as he's Jelly's kid.
"Munk and tugger bff's??? (SKIMBLE song pillow fight and just general horseplay" - Yup! :)
"During Grizabella the glamour cat Demeters part was private with Silla and Bombas was loud and public with everyone" - Cinematic freeze frame was intended to stop time. Sillabub was VERY young and doesn't exactly remember Grizz, and she absolutely doesn't understand what happened/why she's an outcast. Demeter, Jellylorum, and Bomba all stepped up to help raise her with Munk.
"Old d seems bitter toward Grizabella and during MOH he sings directly to her and seems mad until Silla starts singing" - Oh, he was very betrayed and angry. What gets me is a very Will Mann thing where for just a second before "not forgetting something that is probably quite ineffable" he takes a breath where he chokes up and lets out a cry. Betrayal comes in so many forms.
"Grizabella did something to piss Bomba off bad": All the cats responded differently to Grizz leaving, and her return. Misto and Jenny were genuinely thrilled to see their old friend again, Munk was conflicted because his old lover was back, but also single dad so can he just let her walk in his life to his child.
"Demeter is so horny for Mac. She's not scared at all she just wants to fuck him"
Nobody:
Not a Soul:
Demeter: *throws self on jack-in-the-box* MAAAACAVVVIIITTYYYYYYYYYY~~~~~!
"Bomba starts the Macacity fight after making sure Demeter didn't go with him" - Yes, literally spot on. The D/C said the exact thought is, "Not on my watch."
"Macavity's feral frfr" - Isn't Brian so incredibly expressive? And the hissing just fits perfectly.
"Peaks and policals replaced growltiger and the guy who played Gus was so funny. P&P Was kinda Romeo and Juliet esc setting wise and jelly and Gus sounded beautiful together" - I'm SO happy you got this because Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Ballet was EXACTLY what we were going for! Gus (James Patterson) was the last Tour IV Munkustrap. He is AMAZING. and Katie Sina was offered Jennyanydots on one of the CATS tours (probably IV, maybe early V) but had to decline.
"Grizabella was the main attraction at the park and when Misto said he wanted to be a magician she said she would be his assistant to help drum up excitement for her son, but eventually Misto started to get more and more famous and the crowd didn't care about her much anymore. She got bitter and she abandoned them leaving old Deut to raise Misto and Sillabub alone. I think he was struggling so tugger and Bomba stepped up to help raise Sillabub since she was so young. Sillabub knows that old d and Grizabella are her parents though."
That's such an interesting interpretation! We didn't see Misto as her son but her very good friend (and one of the few genuinely thrilled to see her). She did a few unforgivables when she left, but mostly leaving an itty bitty kitten behind was a huge source of betrayal that Deut (and others) took personally. She left Munkustrap to raise Sillabub alone, genuinely loves her, but Sillabub really doesn't understand what happened. It's just, "this cat came back. I think it's my mom? It is my mom! Why is everyone so angry?"
Again, thank you so much for supporting our show and your wonderful thoughts/account! We really loved this show to bits!
Not CATS but sharing with you guys since you've been so supportive.
Hi folks,
You guys have been so supportive, I wanted to share some really good news with you.
A bunch of you know I'm a writer outside of a costume designer. I've been waiting about 11 months to announce my next book. Announcement just dropped today.
Text:
ANNOUNCEMENT: COMING SUMMER ‘26
Mallory Kass at Scholastic has acquired The Names We Buried by Mia Siegert (Jerkbait; Somebody Told Me). This YA thriller is a modern-day twist on The Face on the Milk Carton where a 17-year-old trans boy takes a DNA test and discovers he's a perfect match for a family searching for their kidnapped daughter. Mallory Kass and Maya Marlette will edit; publication is scheduled for summer 2026. Sera Rivers at Speilburg Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.
If anyone is hoping for Autographs at the Fulton, the best chance to get that worked out is to reply to a post on The Fulton's Instagram page and tag them as well asking, "Will any actors be at the stage door for autographs after X-show?" (be specific about which date and whether night or matinee).
Cannot guarantee that will happen--some housing is connected to the theatre--but the highest odds of that happening will be because their marketing team will see it and send a note to the actors, and also the actors will see it and some of them might voluntarily do so.
They might also have a different preferred area.
Also... I feel SO silly but... if anyone goes... there's apparently some big banner inside that has the production and cast list with our names on it pretty big. Would anyone be so kind as to take a photo of that? We had no clue it was there. I don't think the posters they're selling has our names on it but if so, I would pay someone back to pick up a copy (only if our names--we did not do the signature poster, that is JUST the actors).
