“Theatre, Film and all aspects of performance and staging have been my passion for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved the visual side of storytelling – the imaginary worlds of comic books, stage productions, TV shows and movies. My heroes were Disney, Hitchcock and Harryhausen. This fascination inspired me to draw my own comics, make short films with my friends, and design and build sets for school plays. Decades later, as a Professional Designer, that passion is still the same. It’s still inspiring, challenging and a whole lot of fun.” William Barclay
William Barclay Set Design – Theater
After college William Barclay began work in Theater as an Assistant Designer on Broadway shows including the original productions of ANNIE, BARNUM, DANCIN’, WORKING, THE RINK, and Bob Fosse’s BIG DEAL. During this period he also designed scenery Off-Off-Broadway, in Summer Stock and at Regional Theaters across the country. Over the years, in New York non-profit theater companies, he has designed multiple shows for The Vineyard Theatre, Primary Stages, Second Stage, Circle Rep, American Place Theater, and the original Hudson Guild. William Barclay has designed for many Regional Theaters; his scenic designs have appeared at the Folger Theater, Goodspeed Musicals, The Pasadena Playhouse, Pioneer Theatre Company, Alliance Theater, GeVa Theater, Two River Theater, and the George Street Playhouse, among others. A few of his Off-Broadway credits include GOBLIN MARKET (Drama Desk nomination), A SHAYNA MAIDEL, BERLIN TO BROADWAY WITH KURT WEILL (revival), HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH (revival), IN THE WINGS, GERSHWIN’S AMERICAN RHAPSODY, and the original production of LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL. On Broadway, William Barclay designed Rupert Holmes’ SOLITARY CONFINEMENT with Stacy Keach, and SALLY MARR AND HER ESCORTS with Joan Rivers as Lenny Bruce’s mother.
William Barclay Art Direction/Production Design – Film and TV
Although he originally majored in Film at NYU (BFA with honors), William Barclay did not work in Motion Pictures until he served as Art Director for Peter Larkin (with whom he had worked as Assistant Designer on 6 Broadway productions) on BERRY GORDY’S LAST DRAGON, a kung-fu disco movie. From here he worked for numerous Production Designers on such productions as THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS, BEACHES (NY scenes), HELLO AGAIN, BOOMERANG, THE CROW, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, THE COWBOY WAY, and SUDDEN DEATH. William Barclay has Production Designed a number of Indie movies, including MEN OF RESPECT (John Turturro), I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU NOT (Claire Danes), BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND (Danny Aiello), SEVEN GIRLFRIENDS (Tim Daly), SHE’S THE ONE (Edward Burns), and BASKET CASE 3 (with no one you know.) In Television, he also provided the Art Direction on PBS historical and science documentaries and a number of national TV commercials.
William Barclay Set Design – Corporate Events
William Barclay has designed Corporate Events for over 20 years beginning with a 40-city tour of The Chevy Show, a singing-dancing car announcement production musical in 1984. Clients have included Century 21, British Air, DuPont, M&M Mars, General Motors, Fairchild Dornier Aviation, Coca-Cola, and Cosmopolitan Magazine. He designed 6 different spaces for the massive Marriott International Management Conference in Los Angeles, as well as numerous Ritz-Carlton and Marriott events. For Chick-fil-A, William Barclay designed 16 consecutive annual productions for audiences of up to 4600 guests. Since 1999, he has designed the sets for the NFL Rookie Symposium and has worked with NFL Player Engagement on pre-Super Bowl events. William Barclay designed the American half of the Seimans/Unify company launch, produced as a live webcast to 33 countries. He designed the 125th Anniversary Celebration of the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York, the Noel Foundation UNIFEM Awards at the United Nations building, and after 9/11, William Barclay donated his services to design ‘Las Vegas Salutes the USO’ benefit show at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
