Brandon Kirkham is grateful to serve again as a respondent for KCACTF’s Region 3, a place he’s called home for most of his life. After more than a decade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Brandon recently relocated to his hometown of Nashville, Indiana, where he now works as a freelance designer and builder for theatre, with a focus on puppets, costume crafts, and specialty props. Summers are spent in New Mexico, where he leads the costume crafts shop at Santa Fe Opera.
For the last ten years Brandon worked at First Stage, a leading theatre organization for children and families in Milwaukee. During this time, he designed costumes, sets, and puppets for more than fifty productions, and for the past five years served as the company’s Design Supervisor. Favorite First Stage design credits include the world stage premiere of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (costumes, sets, puppets), SPOOKLEY THE SQUARE PUMPKIN (costumes, sets, puppets), SHREK (costumes), U BUG ME (costumes and sets), PETER PAN & WENDY (costumes), MATILDA (sets), m o c k I n g b I r d (sets), LOVABYE DRAGON (puppets and sets), and the upcoming LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS (costumes and puppets).
His designs have also been seen at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Anderson University, and University of Northern Kentucky.
Brandon has built and designed puppets for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Utah Museum of Natural History, Enchantment Theatre Company, Kohl’s Wild Theatre, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre (Holland, MI), Skylight Music Theatre, Northern Kentucky University, and many others.
Brandon is a proud alumnus of the University of Evansville (Bachelors – Theatre Design & Technology) and Ohio University (Masters – Theatre Design) and holds a graduate certificate in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut. Brandon is a member of Puppeteers of America, UNIMA-USA, Indiana Puppetry Guild, and past president of the Wisconsin Puppetry Guild.
www.brandonkirkhamdesigns.com