JULIAN CROUCH is a Brooklyn-based independent director, designer, writer, maker, teacher, illustrator and musician, whose career has spanned theatre, opera, ballet, film and television. Initially a mask and puppet maker, and with much of his life based in London, in the mid- 1990’s co-founded London’s Improbable Theatre Company. Improbable’s productions, which included Animo, 70 Hill Lane, Lifegame, Spirit, Sticky, The Hanging Man, The Wolves in The Walls, and Panic, have gained far-reaching national and international recognition. His final production for Improbable, which he conceived, directed and designed, was The Devil And Mister Punch. Julian co-created, co-directed and designed the multi-award winning Shockheaded Peter. His work for the Metropolitan Opera has included set design and associate direction for Satyagraha, and designs for The Enchanted Island, Doctor Atomic, The Merry Widow, Marnie and their 125th Gala. Other major projects include Jerry Springer: The Opera and A Funny Thing Happened on The Way To The Forum for the National Theatre, The Magic Flute for the Welsh National Opera and Cinderella for the Dutch National and San Francisco Ballets. On Broadway Julian designed The Addams Family Musical, Big Fish, Head Over Heels and Hedwig And the Angry Inch (Tony Nomination). Julian co-directed, co-composed and designed Jedermann for the Salzburg Festival, and he designed and co-created The Aging Magician for BMP at the New Victory Theater. Ballet includes The Nutcracker for Christopher Wheeldon, The Joffrey Ballet, and the English National Ballet. He co-directed and designed King Arthur for the Berlin Staatsoper and Theater an der Wien, and The Barber Of Seville for The Dutch National Opera.

He was also Director and Designer for the Met Opera's 50 Years of The Met at Lincoln Center Gala. He recently designed Hansel and Gretel, Ernani and The Egyptian Helena for La Scala Opera, Milan, and Curse Of The Starving Classes and Little Shop Of Horrors Off Broadway. His production Birdheart, co conceived with Saskia Lane, played for the Dalai Lama in Brussels and has toured as far afield as Zimbabwe and Abu Dhabi. Julian was recently Artist in Residence at New York’s Park Avenue Armory and was the first commissioned artist for the BRIC House Fireworks Residency Program in Brooklyn, NY. He has illustrated 2 books - Jedermann, and Maggot Moon.