After growing up in and around theater in San Diego, Payne moved to Chicago where she received her BFA in costume design and technology from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Over the last several years since then she has designed costumes, styled wigs and applied makeup for theater, film and opera in Chicago, New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles. While pursuing freelance work, Payne also began teaching in the theater department at East Los Angeles College where she found a love for education. She has also worked with the California Educational Theatre Association to encourage theater artistry in Southern California high schools. Payne recently received her MFA in costume design. Some of her recent credits include her thesis Much Ado About Nothing; a new musical, ‘Till Death Do Us Part; Just Like Us; and Hookman, which was in association with the Moxie Theatre.