WILMINGTON — Thalian Association Community Theatre has found its new artistic director after Chandler Davis announced her departure from the position in March.
READ MORE: After 70 productions, Thalian Association artistic director bows out
Bradford Brown is stepping into the role, as Davis continues as artistic consultant through the end of the year.
TACT has a summer musical upcoming, “Beehive: The ’60s Musical,” as well as September’s “A Chorus Line” and December’s “Elf.” Its youth performances consist of September’s “The Sound of Music” and November’s “Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever.”
Brown, who has worked in theater, film and television, received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in musical theater from Syracuse University. His Masters of Computer Science in animation and special effects came from San Francisco’s Academy of Art University.
“I’ve always loved my life in the arts and have been incredibly fortunate to have worked in so many disciplines,” Bradford said in a press release from TACT. “I’m eager to use all the tools I’ve gathered over the years to create incredible theater for the Wilmington.”
The Cleveland, Ohio, native has been performing since youth, in theater and on TV, studying under teachers Salem Ludwig (directing) and James Price (Meisner Technique). He lived in New York and helped found Ring of Fire Productions off-Broadway. The company combined both film and animation with onstage acting.
Brown moved to Wilmington in the early aughts and worked in set-dressing and as a prop master; his resume includes shows like “One Tree Hill,” “Welcome to Flatch,” and “Sleepy Hollow,” as well as films like “Ironman 3” and 2022’s “Scream.”
He also has taught computer animation and special effects at UNCW and created his own virtual reality play space via the company Laughing Soul Media. The game was “projected inside a geodesic dome, hands free without a headset,” a release detailed.
It’s not Brown’s first time working for TACT. He has directed shows, including “Carousel,” “Pippin” and “The Pirates of Penzance,” and helped with dance-film hybrid performances as part of Dancelorus, one of the featured events of the Cucalorus Film Festival.
Having performed locally, Brown has appeared in both a Pied Piper Children’s Theater production and in Rob Zapple’s “A Christmas Carol.”
“It was important to find the right person to honor our mission as community theatre, continuing Chandler’s tradition of great production quality, as well as wonderful experiences for our volunteers and theatre family,” executive director Susan Habas said in a press release. “Bradford’s diverse work history and skills, combined with his love for Thalian and local theatre ideally position him to lead our artistic vision.”
North Carolina’s official community theater, TACT produces five productions a year on the main stage at Thalian Hall and its multiple kids’ productions in the Hannah Block Historic USO/Community Arts Center, which the company manages for the City of Wilmington. The theater company was established in 1788.
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