Diving into the Arts with Alum Wyatt Fenner

It’s #FrontRowFriday again here at Encore, and we are reconnecting with another alum! We last interviewed Wyatt Fenner during the pandemic, and he encouraged us with ideas for staying creative at home. Today he is following up on his creative projects and his Encore love story. Welcome back, Wyatt!

Audiences want to know — are you and Andrew still together?

Yes! Andrew and I are still together! Andrew works as a lawyer at Mount Sinai and both of our careers are focused on human nature, relationships, and lifting communities up. We live on 78th Street on the Upper West Side where we have a beautiful rooftop garden that is an oasis for us in this busy city. Our interests are mostly the same as when we were kids! Aside from doing theatre, seeing theatre, concerts, and films together, reading great books and traveling, we love to have our friends over to our place for parties and hangs in the garden. I’m a lucky guy that we both benefited so much from being involved with CTA as kids- that’s why he was able to recognize me when we reconnected as adults!

Are there other Encore (CTA) alumni whom you keep in touch with? Are there fun reunion stories you’d like to share and how have your friendships grown over the years? 

So many! Katelyn Prominski has a gorgeous family and we see eachother whenever we can. Jordan Kai Burnett lives around the corner from me! She’s in London doing a new musical right now, but I see her all the time. Justin Scribner didn’t do plays with me at CTA but he took ballet across the hall at Gunston with Arlington Center for Dance and all of us found ourselves hanging out and connecting in the hallway between our rehearsals and then inevitably becoming friends around town in Arlington. When I first moved to New York Justin included me in his book club and I made a bunch of new friends thru him! Justin’s husband Ben is a great playwright and he and Andrew I are all friends! They both came to our Christmas party last year. Justin is stage managing the amazing new musical “Maybe Happy Ending” on Broadway.

You mentioned the pizza parties after a CTA performance, what were other memorable traditions you had with your CTA friends and what made it so special?

Another special memory is driving from TJ to Ballston Mall between matinee and evening performances of our plays. Cathie Gayer would pile us into her car, we would blast TLC (“No Scrubs” or “Waterfall”) and sing along until we all hit the food court for sushi or Sbarro. A nice hang at the mall, all of us painted up in our full stage make up looks, was the perfect way to break up our time in the theatre. I also cherish the connections I deepened with Mom and Dad on our beautiful drives thru Arlington coming to and from rehearsals and performances. The seasons changing as we would drive past the rose gardens at Bluemont Park, or down route 50, watching the sun light fade into the horizon and sharing my ideas from the day with them and hearing about theirs. Or just listening to tape cassettes of Broadway Cast Recordings together. We wore out Les Miz and Rent. Mom and Dad realized when I was really young how much I loved the theatre and every Christmas my big gifts were tickets to see Broadway shows. Dad and I would take the train together up to New York to see plays together. CTA was how we were all able to discover together what the theatre means to me. When I wanted to start working professionally I would scour the local library and the weekend section of the Washington Post- the Guide to Lively Arts- for opportunities- and the rule was that Mom and Dad were willing to drive me anywhere within a forty five minute trip. Once or twice I stretched that to about an hour, but I don’t think they minded because we all treasure the time our drives afforded me to connect one on one with Mom and Dad.

We last connected during the pandemic, how has it been to be back in person creating art? 

The reason I love to do this work is for the opportunity to connect with people! Getting to be back on stage and in rehearsal rooms with people has been incredible! For me it’s similar to the different between exercising on a treadmill or going for a beautiful hike in nature with friends. Having somewhere exciting to go each day that is full of possibilities and creative people is such a gift- and you can get new ideas out of theatre coming thru a computer screen, but you don’t feel it in your nervous system the same way when you aren’t sharing space.

Can you fill us in on what you’ve been working on since then? 

A film I starred in is available to rent or own on demand on all digital platforms. The film is called “Chrissy Judy” and I am so proud of it. The film isn’t suitable for children, but parents can find and enjoy it! 

Last fall I played a strange little boy in a world premier play at the Theatre for the New City in the East Village. The play is about internet addiction, and extremely theatrical and absurd.

I’m also on a series on called “After Forever” and last month the final season was released on Amazon. Right now I’m excited about finding out what’s next! One exciting thing about this job is getting to discover which projects are right for you as you continue to show up and do your best.

Encore’s theme this season is “courage” — how can theatre give students courage? 

By taking the chance to make yourself vulnerable, with your feelings, with your ideas, with your desires and interests, you provide yourself and your audience the opportunity to connect and be seen. Doing theatre allows you to investigate your complicated feelings. To be brave enough to share what you’ve discovered from this self reflection is an incredible gift to give to yourself and your community. None of us wants to think about something awkward like struggling in the subject we have most trouble with at school, getting a pimple, worrying if there is any sandwich or Oreo stuck in our braces at lunch- but we all have these kinds of experiences every day. When we know we aren’t alone in what may be awkward or uncomfortable we are liberated from our insecurity around those things! Coming together and sharing ourselves from a genuine place gives us all the opportunity to recognize that we aren’t alone, and in fact the aspects of ourselves we may be insecure about are often exactly what we can afford to celebrate. 

What is one unexpected way that your theatre training has been applicable outside of performing?

My experience as an actor has helped me practice patience and has allowed me to appreciate my own sensitivity. Theatre has developed my patience with others because in learning not to judge a character I’m playing I’ve also learned that in life everybody is generally doing their best out there. When I encounter a frustrating experience I can remind myself that a person who may be annoying me probably isn’t aware of what’s wrong with their behavior, and it isn’t intentional. Then I can usually let it go. Theatre has also illuminated how sensitive a person I am- which would be the case whether or not I worked in the theatre- but, fortunately for me what I do allows my sensitivity to be something I utilize. Being in touch with my emotions and my creative ideas is how I do my best in my work! So when I am feeling my sensitivity I can allow myself to appreciate it because I know how important it is to my ability to do my work as an actor.

What special skill have you always wanted to use in a performance? 

I’ve always wanted to use my diving skills! I was a junior Olympic diver as a kid and actually stopped training as a diver when I had to choose between diving and doing “A Christmas Carol” at Ford’s Theatre. Side note!: I encourage anyone reading this to get yourself an audition for that amazing production! They always need new talent to play the Cratchit kids and urchins and doing that play helped start my professional career! Back to diving- A few years ago I played Peter in “Peter and the Starcatcher” and I had an opportunity to dive from a set piece into a circus balloon/net thing. That was thrilling!

What moment(s) encouraged you to pursue acting?

Every time I’ve heard from someone what they appreciated about the work I do as an actor I have been encouraged. Marcia Gardiner is a wonderful woman who used to run Signature Theatre. She mentored me as a kid and she always told me what she appreciated about each performance of mine she saw- which helped me feel good about my instincts, my work ethic, and my ever unfolding path. Tell other people why you appreciate them! You have no idea how it might inspire them to accomplish whatever is next for them.

Lastly — we’re having an Encore alumni reunion in July at Footloose, will you be there!? Or can you share a message from you to share at the event?

I would love to come! Hope to see you all there!

Thank you for reconnecting with your Encore roots, Wyatt. We wish you all the best in whatever is next, and always know that your Encore family is rooting for you!

Photos by Larry McClemons and others from Wyatt Fenner. Blog contribution by Parker Nelson.

Diving into the Arts with Alum Wyatt Fenner

Encore Stage & Studio

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