Chris Conard
(He likes to hug cactus.)
Chris is an Austin born unicorn who splits time between the mountains of New Mexico and the hills of Austin. Chris has served as a Creative Director, Production Designer, Technical Director and Designer for Theater, Events, Installations, Film, and Television. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with an MFA in Live Entertainment Design. His undergraduate degree is from Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe, NM with a BFA in Technical Theater Design.
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Chris has worked on a variety of projects.
He enjoys dreaming up an idea with collaborators, and then making it a reality.
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Chris considers himself a jack of all trades.
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For over ten years, Chris has designed for companies in Austin, Santa Fe, NYC, LA.
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Chris serves as the Technical Director and Production Designer for the international Performing Arts and Arts Festival: Fusebox Festival, in Austin Texas. https://fuseboxlive.com/
Chris co-founded Interactive Nature Studio in June of 2021, a company that he continues to design and make a wide variety of dope digital/physical work with. https://www.interactivenature.studio/
Chris created original devised work with the Frank Wo/Men Collective, a company he co-founded in Austin from 2016-2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wo%2FMen_Collective
Chris is not a website designer, -but be likes to dabble in everything.
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In addition to design and creation, Chris also enjoys cooking meals from scratch, gardening edible plants, and caretaking his 65+ indoor plants.
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Chris loves Cats. He cares for two sisters: Blingle and Pichu.
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Chris is an avid Outdoorsman and has backpacked all over the United States, most recently backpacking the grand canyon, rim to rim to rim.
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Here are some awards Chris has received:
2020 Texas Performing Arts 2020 Residency $50,000 Award
2019 Best of Austin, winner, Austin Critics Pick.
2019 B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
2019 Best Arts Related Thing to Do, The Austin Chronicle.
2019 Top 10 Joys in Dance and Classical in 2019, The Austin Chronicle.
2018-2019 Nomination, Best Ensemble Austin Critics Table Award, Frank Wo/Men Collective.
2018 Austin Critics Table award winner for Best Set Design
2018 City of Austin Grant, Community Initiative Grant ($3,500).
2017-2018 Nomination, Best Ensemble Austin Critics Table Award, Frank Wo/Men Collective.
2017 Top Ten Thrills no Frills, Jonelle Seitz, Austin Chronicle, Frank Wo/Men Collective.
2017 Austin Critics Table award winner for Best Set Design
2017 B. Iden Payne Award Winner for Outstanding Scenic Design
2017 B. Iden Payne Award Nominee for Outstanding Lighting Design
Some of the folks Chris and his company have worked with:
Here are some of Chris' skills:
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
SKILLS
SOFTWARE
Communication
Problem Solving
Team Building Leadership
Delegation
Project-Management
Budgeting
Labor Management
Scheduling
Conflict Resolution
Team Building
Flexibility
Polymath
Dependable
Collaborator
Active Listening
Conflict Management
Public Speaking
Empathy
Teammate
Working with Others
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3D modeling
3D Rendering
Drafting
Digital Fabrication
Mechanical System design
Engineering
3D printing
Laser Cutting
CNC Carving
Carpentry
Scenic Painting
Faux Painting
Lighting Design
Scenic Design
Technical Direction
Furniture Design
Red-Lining Architectural Drawings
Construction
Upholstery
Low Voltage Electrical
Plumbing
Electrical
Sewing : Hand & Machine
Mig Welding
Rigging
Digital Drawing
Drawing
Kit Bashing
System Diagrams
Vectorworks
Blender
Unreal Gaming Engine
Touchdesigner
Adobe Suite:
Photoshop
Illustrator
Indesign
After Effects
Cura
OBS
Microsoft Office
Mac & PC
Google Sketch Up
8th Wall
EOS Lighting Software
Raspberry Pi
Google Suite
Airtable
Slack
Discord
Asana
Fusion 360
Easel CNC
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Thanks for scrolling down.
Here is a random self-portrait gif Chris made:
