Clifton Chadick
I am an Arizona-based scenic designer and creative director with a passion for designing evocative environments that spark curiosity, stir emotions, and ignite creativity.
For me, theater has always been a vital outlet for self-expression. As a child I’d act out my favorite fairy tales for my family, utilizing our garage door as the grand drape and a rusted-out trailer serving as the stage. Donning a yard or two of sparkly fabric I'd whirl around like a witch or do a devilish jig.
At an early age I became fascinated by the mechanics of creating illusions. My grandfather was an NASA engineer who worked on space flight simulators. He was also an amateur magician, so as you can imagine he had a love for Disney World. He instilled curiosity in me when he'd point out all of the technical elements making all the magic happen.
Growing up in a small Texas town was not the most ideal for a whimsical boy like me, but my family was ideal. I had the most loving family who realized my talents and worked hard so that I could keep telling stories.
Throughout the years my unique style as a visual storyteller has kept evolving. I like to find a lens from which to tell a story; what qualities or elements of a story to foreground to have the most impact on a modern audience?
I love to come up with new ideas of ways to do things differently.
For Music City, I turned the entire theater into a Nashville dive bar, placing the audience square in the middle of the action and making the story extremely present. For Grant Varjas’s new play, Accidentally Like A Martyr, set in a West Village gay bar, I turned the bar mirror into the portal through which the audience viewed the play. This voyeuristic perspective gave the play a sense of realism and lack of privacy. When I designed a grade school production of Willy Wonka, my mission was to make the Chocolate Room as awe inspiring as my memories of the movie. My sprawling landscape of dollar store treasures all brightly painted and glittered, while not actually edible, was candy for the eye. Every performance when the image was revealed through a scrim the audience would vocally react in wonderment.​ I love a strong concept!
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My designs have been recognized by many media outlets and publications. I've received several awards and nominations including a 2025 Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical for BEDLAM's Music City.
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