Thomas Brown Jr

Education

Equipment

My Equipment/Kit: Circular Saw, Cordless Screw Gun, Router

I can use: Cordless Screw Gun, radial arm saw, Router, Circular Saw, Table Saw

About me

For over 40 years I have designed, built and installed sets for a variety of entertainment formats and programs - including Live Theater, Corporate Events, Musical Concerts, Dramatic & Science-Fiction Film, TV - Sitcom, Musical Variety and Award, Talk Show and Live Comedy Variety. On these productions I served variously as Production Designer, Art Director, or Assistant Art Director. In most cases I was also the Production Lead, Lead Carpenter, and Scenic Artist – or all three! While my specific responsibilities have varied from production to production, my usual work process has been to confer with the producer(s)/director (s) in developing the concepts for the overall visual look and physical layout of the show and space in the venue. Later I would develop presentation drawings, including color sketches, models, floor plans, construction drawings and installation schedules and/or strategies for mounting the production. For these same productions I would also develop the preliminary, final, and working budgets for the scenic or technical aspects of the projects. Sometimes these budgets would be as small as $4,000.00 or as much as $2,000,000.00. Oftentimes, I would also secure and supervise the crews involved in the building, installing and the striking of the sets for the shows.

I’ve often worked on projects that required the coordination of efforts at multiple venues. The few that stand out particularly are as follows:

BET-TV – I was frequently called upon to design and manage multiple projects at the same time with them. The most challenging was the TRIBUTE OF BLACK MUSIC LEGENDS (1994), which required four different settings, built by two different construction firms, to be installed into the Pasadena Convention Center within a five-day period. I ran an art department of about 6 people and interfaced with the various other production crews during the run.

Another multiple production project I did with them involved my creating scenery and management teams for three distinctly different television shows. In-house we called it the TRI-STAGE PRODUCTION. One was a Talk Show, another was a Game Show, and the third was a Live Comedy show. All three shows were live-to-tape and had to accommodate live audiences. I was the Production Designer for these projects and as such I had to coordinate their design, construction, installation, and non-camera staffing during taping. I set-up and ran an art department of about 8 people and interfaced with the various other production designers, leads, and crews during the run.

CARIBBEAN CLASSIC GOLF INTERNATIONAL (CCGI) – This was a multiple day event (5 days) in Jamaica that required the outdoor stadium venue (Rose Hall Field) to each day be transformed for an entirely different type of entertainment presentation. In addition there were several other locations near the vicinity of the stadium that had to be decorated for a variety of different celebration, party, and meeting events. All of this required my developing budgets and coordinating with multiple construction, rigging, and installation concerns as well as with various decorating companies and individuals throughout the island. I also worked very closely with the producer’s marketing and ticketing liaison regarding seating designations and ticket sales.


I have extensive knowledge of AutoCad, CorelDraw, Adobe PhotoShop, Illustrator, and Soundbooth. As well, I have excellent working knowledge of Quickbooks, Works, and Excel spreadsheet and database functions. I believe that my hands-on skill with Drawing, Scenic Painting, Drafting, Carpentry, Rigging and Projection systems is exceptional. Additionally, throughout my many years of design activity I have learned to be quite efficient in handling multiple projects at one time.
Additional skills:
AUTOCAD 2012/ CORELDRAW X5/ ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR 10 and PHOTOSHOP 7.0 / CONSTRUCTION & INSTALLATION / SCENIC PAINTING/ CAD DRAFTING and COMPUTER IMAGING DESIGN (PC & MAC)
Industry awards:
1991 DRAMA-LOGUE AWARD and NAACP Theater Award for set design for STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

1992 NAACP Theater Award for set design for MISS DESSA

1993 NAACP Theater Award for set design for STEAL AWAY

Nominated for “BEST SET DESIGN” 1993 LA WEEKLY Theater Award for WASHINGTON SQUARE MOVES.

1995 NAACP Theater Award for set design for THE FIVE HEARTBEATS

1996 DRAMA-LOGUE Award for set design for ETTA JENKS

2012 Winner of Set Design Reality Show Competition, HOT SET - by the SYFY Channel

2013 OVATION AWARDS Nomination for Intimate Set Design for THE OLD SETTLER

Skills

Job Titles	Rigger, Theatre Technician, Lighting Designer, General Staff, Producer, Carpenter, Constructions, Set Builder, Set Artist / Designer, Props Buyer, Prop Maker, Production Support, Production Manager
Years in industry	6+ years