About Me
Kris Julio is an educator, artisan and activist with over 15 years experience working in theater. Currently based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Julio is the Director of the Stage Properties concentration in the School of Design and Production at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Julio teaches his students to look at their work through a critical lens and is working on developing new courses exploring the collaborative process. Along with teaching both undergraduate and graduate level courses, Julio serves UNCSA as co-chair for the university-wide Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Framework committee. Over the past three years he has been a consulting faculty member developing a ground-breaking M.F.A. program in Animatronics set to launch Fall 2021.
Outside of UNCSA, Julio has worked with theater and entertainment companies across the country including Contemporary American Theater Festival, Peppercorn Children’s Theater at Kaleideum, National Black Theater Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and on the national tours of “Memphis the Musical” and Disney's “Beauty and the Beast.” Julio has also collaborated numerous times with sculpture and installation artist Elizabeth Alexander.
He is active in his community and recently completed a board term for the North Star LGBTQIA+ Community Center and now serves on their Advisory Board. Some of his podcast features include Jessamyn Stanley’s “Jessamyn Explains it All: Queer identity in the American South” and Ashley Flowers and Eric Hart’s “Silk Flowers and Papier Mache Hearts: Kris Julio takes us to school.” Originally from the Los Angeles area, Julio earned his B.A. in Theater Arts from UC Santa Cruz, with a dual-emphasis in Performance Studies and Scenic Design and his M.F.A. in Stage Properties from UNCSA.
When Julio is not in the shop, he enjoys reading for his monthly book club, studying semiotics, drinking a good cup of coffee and hiking with his wife and labradoodle.
Résumé + CV
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References available upon request.