Gage Williams
Born in Texas and raised in Arizona.
I had no experience in theatre design when I began college at Arizona State University in the early 80’s. Professor Jeffrey Thomson was instrumental to my early development, and with his encouragement and mentorship, I completed a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology. In graduate school at Southern Methodist University, I studied with Broadway design couple, William and Jean Eckart. Their teaching style required me to learn to work efficiently and quickly, and emphasized a design discovery process to reveal the essence of the play and the use of symbols to convey meaning to the audience. These three mentors made an enduring and impactful imprint on my design process and aesthetic.
A summer internship at the Old Globe Theatre was an eye-opening introduction to professional theatre, and led me to a staff assistant designer position the following summers while I attended graduate school. The numerous designers, artisans, and directors I assisted had a significant influence on my future work.
From 1990-94, I lived in Los Angeles, CA. and worked for Bruce Ryan Production Design, art directing network and cable television productions. Through Bruce, I learned the ins and outs of TV design. TV design has a quick turnaround from conception to realization and last minute on-set changes were the norm. So, I quickly learned to trust my design instincts, think on my feet, and manage multiple large-scale TV productions simultaneously.
In 1992, I began an artistic collaboration with Charles Fee. My artistic association with Charles accounts for the majority of my professional theatre design. Charles is the Producing Artistic Director for Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theatre, and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festivals, and I design for all three companies regularly, and served as Resident Set Designer for ISF from 1995-2008. This association has been invaluable to my professional development and provided me with an artistic home and a host of inspiring collaborators.
Since 1994, I have been teaching set design at the University of Utah, and hold the rank, Professor of Theatre. At the U of U, I am impressed with my students’ skills in new technologies, and their interest in a worldview of the arts. I see in them a generation of diverse theatre artists, unified in their desire to have a positive impact on their communities and the world as a whole.
