Ensemble Bios

William Schmuck

Mr William Schmuck has been the Shaw Festival’s Design Director since 1996. This season he will design sets and costumes for Present Laughter, French Without Tears and Hedda Gabler. In the 2011 season he designed sets and costumes for Drama at Inish – A Comedy and Candida.

Past Shaw Festival designs include: sets and costumes for John Bull’s Other Island, The Women, Brief Encounters, Star Chamber, The Stepmother, After the Dance, The Cassilis Engagement, Mack and Mabel, High Society, Love Among the Russians, The Autumn Garden, The Constant Wife, Pal Joey, Floyd Collins, Rutherford and Son, Waiting for the Parade, The Royal Family, Blood Relations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Hay Fever, The Return of the Prodigal (2001, 2002), The Millionairess, The Matchmaker, A Woman of No Importance, Easy Virtue (1999, 2000), Rebecca, Major Barbara (1998), Hobson’s Choice (1995, 1996), Will Any Gentleman?, The Secret Life, The Conjuror Part 2, An Ideal Husband (1994, 1995), Mr Cinders, You Never Can Tell, The Zoo, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Lady, Be Good!. He designed the scenery for Wonderful Town, Lady Windermere’s Fan and the costumes for Tristan, Arms and The Man and The Coronation Voyage.

His opera designs include Albert Herring and The Magic Flute for the Canadian Opera Company; Peter Grimes starring Ben Heppner for the Vancouver Opera; and The Turn of the Screw for the Pacific Opera. He has done many operas with Opera Atelier including The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, as well as Dido and Aeneus for the Houston Grand Opera. Additional design credits include: A Flea in Her Ear at Soulpepper Theatre Company, for which he was nominated for a Dora Award for costumes; She Stoops to Conquer at The Grand Theatre and Vancouver Playhouse; All My Sons and An Inspector Calls at Theatre Calgary; The Crucible, Tons of Money and Charley’s Aunt at Vancouver Playhouse; costumes for The Importance of Being Earnest at Vancouver Playhouse and Theatre Calgary; Last Respects at Tarragon Theatre; and Little Shop of Horrors and Oliver at Theatre Aquarius.

Additionally, William has designed productions for the National Arts Centre, the Stratford Festival, the Canadian Stage Company and The Grand Theatre.