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Tim Allis (B.F.A. ’83) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

The Meadows experience not only can provide the tools and knowledge for its alumni’s careers, but it can also spark lifelong passions. Though theatre alum Tim Allis has made his career as a writer and editor, his love of theatre remains one of his greatest joys and it has played a significant part in his professional journey.

During his time in the theatre program, Allis studied not only the technical curriculum like voice work, character, and movement, he also gained an education simply from watching the plays produced by the Division of Theatre.

“The arts open not just your mind, but your heart,” Allis explains, who understood that the work and exploration that went into the productions was an education in itself. “Meadows offered us something that I think is unique in the university: a crazy high premium on discipline and sacrifice, but with a sense of freedom too, a bit of bohemian abandon—which might sound like opposing concepts but really aren’t.”

This focused sense of creativity, combined with the English degree he also received from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, led to an internship at D Magazine. Following this journalism stint, Allis joined People magazine as a staff writer in New York City and, later, a 12-year run as a senior editor and writer at InStyle.

In addition to his permanent roles at these high-profile publications, Allis has done freelance writing for publications such as Out, Saveur, Billboard, Time Out New York, CNN.com and Playbill.com over the years. He has even written a few short plays, three of which were staged in NYC in play festivals.

“I drew on my theatre major experience often when covering the Broadway scene in New York or profiling famous actors,” says Allis, who would often gravitate to stories involving the arts. “I could speak their language, and was as excited about plays and movies as they were.”

His most recent writing endeavor is his debut book, titled Henri Bendel and the Worlds He Fashioned, that was published last year. And even this project connects back to his theatre roots. The book is about the man behind the famous women’s clothing store, and during his research he learned that Bendel costumed a lot of Broadway shows back in the 1920s and 30s.

Allis traveled to Dallas this past weekend where he hosted a book discussion and signing event at local bookstore Interabang Books. While he was in town, he stopped by his alma mater to speak to Meadows’ Fashion Media students about his new book, bringing everything full circle.