Brandon R. McWilliams

Brandon R. McWilliams holds a BFA in Theatre Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in Costume Design from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He has designed costumes regionally for the Silver Spring Stage, Potomac Theatre Project, Actors' Theatre of Washington, Virginia Musical Theatre, No Rules Theatre Co., Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Hartford Children’s Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Serenbe Playhouse, Washington Shakespeare Company, Texas Shakespeare Festival, and Imagination Stage. He is the recipient of the Zelma H. Weisfeld USITT Costume Design Award, two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Shrader Kimberly Award in Costume Design.

As an administrator, Brandon has also worked for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) on the development of Gateway to the Americas/Puertas de las Americas, a program partnering with Cultural Contact (US-Mexico Fund for Culture) to create new opportunities for Latin America to expand its presence in the realm of international presenting. He also developed the Cultural Exchange Fund, a travel grant program assisting in the early stages of international collaborations between artists, presenters and managers.

Brandon's work in theatrical design has been on display at the Prague Quadrennial '07, hailed as the Olympics of theatrical design, as well as at the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Qatar. He has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, Salisbury University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and currently teaches at Louisiana State University as Assistant Professor of Costume Design.

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

Your well is spent, you’ve given all you have and yet more is still expected. Often in our profession we find ourselves at the point at which we are simply tired, yet still we must produce. This workshop will explore methods of renewal that will allow us to move forward while acknowledging “nothingness” and “emptiness” as a key component to the creative process.

Points of Discussion

Renewal & The Creative Process:

Presentation of Research & Findings

Common threads and data from the study

Myths of Inactivity

Inactive Innovation

Utilizing “nothingness”

Maximizing “empty”

Finding Balance

Working with nothing

Growth Strategies

The Pressure of Perfection

Moving Forward

Target Audience: educators, artists, people interested in the creative process.

PAST CONFERENCES

Organized by IUGTE in collaboration with "ArtUniverse"