Accomplished New York Actor/Director Chi Wright has joined the as the new artistic director of The Roeper Theatre Company and will launch the Broadway musical RENT, starring Roeper students, as his first production.
RENT, the Roeper Theatre Company’s first production of the 2011-12 school year, will open at 8 p.m. Nov. 4, 2011 at the R. Dean Acheson Theatre on Roeper’s Birmingham campus. The show, which is intended for mature audiences, will run through Nov. 12.
“Roeper’s theatre program is known for challenging its students by providing them with material that is usually not performed until the collegiate level, which is why I was so drawn to become a part of the school,” said Wright. “The students are extremely talented and I had no doubt that they would be able to tackle this huge production, with very adult themes, with the energy and level of performance the show needed.”
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Wright was able to utilize RENT as an additional teaching opportunity to educate Roeper students involved in the production on issues not commonly discussed in high school theater programs. By bringing in guest speakers for intimate, round-circle discussions, the students met real people who opened up about their personal journeys living with HIV or eating disorders, two themes prevalent throughout RENT.
Through these discussions, Mr. Wright enabled the students to not only learn about these issues, but also to better understand the material they were performing.
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Wright has starred in off-Broadway and regional theater productions, as well as commercials and films. Additionally, he has directed multiple classical and contemporary plays and new theatrical works at college and secondary levels.
Prior to joining the Roeper Theater Company, Wright also taught drama and English at schools in Cambodia and Laos. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Lesley University and his Master’s in Fine Arts degree in Classical Theatre from Columbia University.
This report was provided by the Roeper School.
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