Resume

Teaching

UC IRVINE: Now in his eighteenth year with UCIrvine's Drama Department, Cliff teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in Stage Design, Visual Aesthetics, and Script Analysis, plus a year-long Development of Theater series that examines the role of performance and production in cultures around the world. He also initiated a class in Gay Theater, his seventh new course for the university, again exploring art as a record of cultural history. (1991 - present)

CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE: Working with community residents and with students from across the nation, Cliff was a guest artist and assistant to Education Director Deb Piver and to Cornerstone Theater Company's founding Artistic Director, Bill Rauch at the inaugural Cornerstone Institute in Lost Hills, California. He has continued to consult with the Institute's directors and to guide top students into this exceptional program. (2004 - present)

Arts Administration

Cliff is a member of the National Advisory Circle of Cornerstone Theater Company, one of the nation's leading intercultural, community-based arts organizations. He has also served two terms on the company's Board of Directors, and as a member of their Executive Committee has helped to guide the company's long-range planning, initiate a significant endowment fund, and support its work with diverse community partners. (1998 - present)

At South Coast Repertory Cliff developed and ran Nexus, a new works program. Part of the theatre's literary department, Nexus commissioned writers and led collaborative workshops to generate new cross-cultural American theater. With Nexus Cliff also produced Laughter of the Children of War by Club O' Noodles, the nation's first Vietnamese-American performance company. (1993-1996)

Direction

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Exploring the immediacy and vitality of Shakespeare's language and of storytelling picturization, this production was conceived as a stripped-down, intimate staging in a close arena configuration. Working in a converted barn with ten actors (including three undergraduates, four MFA students, a newly-minted PhD, and two faculty members), plus an MFA assistant director, a faculty colleague from UCI Drama's PhD program, and essentially no scenery, costumes, lighting, props, or recorded sound, we experimented in highly collaborative production creation, much in the spirit of Shakespeare's original companies. (2008)

Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Cliff Faulkner, with text direction by Phil Thompson, musical direction by Dennis Castellano, choreography by Valerie Rachelle, and fight choreography by Christopher Villa. Created in response to the United States' attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq, this production drew upon Latin sacred music, Italian canzone, Motown, and Hip Hop to underline the universal cost and futility of hatred and revenge. (2004)

Nagasaki Rain, by Cliff Faulkner, Deidre Sklar, Jeff Takacs, and students at UC Irvine. Initially inspired by oral histories of Nagasaki citizens following the bombing of their city during World War II, this collaborative performance project was developed soon after September 11, 2001, and quickly became a more global response to crisis, reflecting the disparate views of eighteen participants from seven different nations. (2002)

Bullwhip Days, created by Cliff Faulkner, Sylvia Turner, and students at UC Irvine. This multi-ethnic ensemble collaboration was based on James Mellon's collection of WPA oral histories that documented the experiences of people born and early raised as slaves in America. (1999)

Search for the Sacred Heart, by Jeff Takacs. This solo performance addressed American working class life by juxtaposing mid-twentieth century songs of the common man set against the final speeches of Alabama governor George Wallace. (2002)

Additional UCI work includes a staging of Split, by Michael Weller (1999), and a table reading of Kaintuck, by Jeff Takacs (2001).

Stage Design

South Coast Repertory: As Resident Designer, Cliff designed scenery and costumes for more than seventy productions at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. Working closely with Martin Benson and David Emmes, Artistic Directors of this Tony Award-winning theatre, and with guest directors such as Mark Rucker, Lee Shallat Chemel, and Libby Appel, Cliff has created designs for new plays and the classics, as well as for selected special events. (1978-2000)

The Old Globe: As a guest artist at The Old Globe in San Diego, Cliff has designed scenery for twelve productions in three different spaces, including two works directed by Artistic Director Jack O'Brien and four directed by guest director Julianne Boyd. (1978-1994)

Oregon Shakespeare Festival: At the Festival's previous second home in Portland, Oregon, Cliff created the settings for Glengarry Glen Ross, directed by Phil Killian, as well as for their King Lear, directed by Richard Seyd and featuring Mr. Sidney Walker. (1991-1992)

Los Angeles and Points West: Other Southern California work includes designs for the Pasadena Playhouse, the Westwood Playhouse, the Matrix, and the Mayfair Theatre. In addition, Cliff's work was a part of the 1990 Festival of Arts in Singapore.

Art Direction

As a consulting Art Director, Cliff has provided designs for special events, parades, and stage productions seen in North America, Europe, and Japan. Clients include Disneyland, Universal Studios, and the special events firm Jani International. Working with founder Robert F. Jani, Cliff created designs for the visit of H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth to Vancouver, British Columbia; the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles; and the American Pavilion of Austria's World Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Fine Arts Commissions

Individual and corporate projects include fine arts work in portraiture, collage, illustration, and mixed-media painted photographs. (1986-present)

Education

1974: Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa from Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania
1976: Master of Arts, Dean's List, and Outstanding Graduate Award from California State University, Long Beach

Credentials and Awards

Find out more about Cliff:

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