Welcome and Introductions

Welcome to my site here at UCI Drama! I'm delighted that you've checked in here, and I look forward to meeting you in person.

Some folks have wondered about my background, so I thought I'd offer a few words for you here. I love teaching at UCI because together we get to address several of my interests: art and design, social consciousness, and the contemplation of our place in the continuum of time.

I've come to UCI after a really enjoyable and successful career as a scene designer and graphic artist. Following early work as a summer stock designer and a scenic artist painting for television in Hollywood, I began working as a painter and designer for South Coast Repertory, our local, Tony-award winning regional theater. This grew into a resident design position with exciting work involving both new plays and the classics, and occasional work for special events. The work was exciting, sometimes mixing costume designs along with scenery. At the same time that I was doing this at SCR, I was also designing for other West Coast theaters, including the Old Globe in San Diego and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The work was recognized favorably by reviews and awards, the most incongruous of which was the Lifetime Achievement Award that came from the L. A. Drama Critics Circle when I was only entering my mid-forties! Was life over already?

Outside the regional theater scene, I've also had the pleasure of working as a designer and illustrator for local theme parks and special events producers. Here were projects of a larger scale, including parades and private parties for Disneyland, stage attractions for Universal Studios, and storyboards for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics when they were last held in Los Angeles. This work had lots of unusual appeal and it really helped to pay for our house and for the travel habits that my sweetheart, Shigeru Yaji, and I enjoy. (Did I mention that he and I have been a couple for more than thirty years now?!)

In my later years at South Coast Repertory some producing opportunities became available. The company was exploring ways to bring greater cultural diversity to the pool of artists it employs, so Dawn Chiang and I proposed a number of programs for the company's consideration. Our suggestions helped shape the Nexus program that I was then invited to coordinate through SCR's literary department. The work involved scouting for new artists, supporting new play development, and helping to extend the ways in which the company fostered new works. One of my proudest achievements through Nexus was introducing to South Coast Repertory the first Vietnamese-American performance company, Club O' Noodles, and producing their Laughter from the Children of War on the company's Second Stage.

These experiences cemented my belief in the impact of socially conscious art, work that I've supported as a member of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Theater Company. Cornerstone creates art with people in communities throughout Los Angeles and the nation, helping to honor diverse voices and ideas while bridging the communities with which it works.

My greatest current joy is working with people like you at UCI to envision the future. By looking at the great work of our global ancestors and the innovations of new artistic inventors, we can discover ways that we each can better contribute to the generations yet to come!

—Cliff Faulkner

Find out more about Cliff:

:: Brief Bio
:: Welcome and Intro
:: Resume
:: Production History
:: Teaching Philosophy
:: More Recent Activity