“Kindness and Enthusiasm” w/ Alum Wyatt Fenner

Welcome back to the F ront R ow blog, Encore fans! Today we’re excited to share a new interview with another one of our accomplished alumni. Join us as Wyatt Fenner shares his recent projects, advice to theatre newcomers, and a few of his favorite Encore memories, including…a love story? Read on to learn more!

Encore: Please introduce yourself, what are you up to now (jobs, projects, shows, etc.)?

Wyatt: My name is Wyatt Fenner and I am an actor living in New York City by way of Los Angeles. Most recently I’ve joined the cast of the Amazon Prime Digital series After Forever which was just nominated for six 2020 Daytime Emmy Awards, including outstanding Digital Drama Series, and is available to stream now. I’ve also recently workshopped several new plays which are in development and aimed for production when we are safely able to enjoy theatre again. After I finished up at Yorktown High School in Arlington I moved to Los Angeles where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Southern California. In my career on stage, I’ve worked on world premieres of new plays with amazing directors and writers including the late Terrence McNally, Moisés Kaufman, Darko Tresnjak, Michael Kahn, Samuel D. Hunter, Steve Yockey, Brian Christopher Williams, Bert V. Royal, and many other amazing artists.

Encore: Which years and productions were you involved in Encore?

Wyatt: My first production with Encore, at the time called Children’s Theatre of Arlington (CTA) was Sing Ho For A Prince in the winter of 1994-1995, in which I played one of the fairies. Next, I did just about every play I could for the next few years: Jack and the Magic Beans , Rhumba Tia , Robin Hood , You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown , The Jungle Book , Cinderella , and I worked on the technical crew for Snow White , and The Reluctant Dragon. Each of those summers I also attended the Stage Door summer camps in July, which included amazing classes and a huge end of session entire camp performance at the Lubber Run Amphitheater.

Encore: What was your most memorable moment at Encore and why?

Wyatt: My most memorable experience with CTA would be hard to pinpoint because the organization opened up an entire world to me that fundamentally change my life. My first memory is being in the hallway at the Gunston Arts Center in line to audition for Sing Ho for a Prince next to Katelyn Prominski. I’d never auditioned for a play before. Katelyn and I were the first two kids in line and nobody else was there yet. She’s a ballerina and was already an incredibly talented dancer, and so while we waited Katelyn was doing barre stretches and ballet warm-up exercises. I am not a ballet dancer and I had no idea what she was doing but it seemed as though whatever she was doing was what a person did while they waited for an audition so I just started copying her stretches. Like- as best as I could, I kind of just pretended I also knew exactly what I was doing and that this was very every day for me. I was in an environment I wanted to be a part of and I wasn’t sure exactly how to do that- but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I’m sure I looked ridiculous but Katelyn didn’t make fun of me or tell me to stop copying her- she included me in the process.

Everyone I shared my time with at Children’s Theatre of Arlington operated with that generosity of spirit. That’s why it’s difficult to pinpoint a moment that was most memorable- helping each other do our stage makeup, pizza parties after the show, late-night trampoline parties on the weekends, the organization provided all of us a place to connect with other kids who were interested in being imaginative and open-hearted- and we all embraced and celebrated that about one another.

Encore: What skills or lessons did you take away from your time at Encore?

Wyatt: The biggest lessons I took away from Encore were the value of being myself with confidence and the importance extending the kindness and enthusiasm I appreciate in the world to the people I am working with and encountering day-to-day. Encouragement makes everyone better and kindness is always what matters most.

Encore: Were there any friendships or people who resonated with you at Encore?

Wyatt: There were so many friendships that resonate deeply with me from my time creating with the Children’s Theatre, including many who I am still close with now. The one relationship that I am certainly especially grateful for is my partner Andrew. Andrew and I both attended the Stage Door summer camp when we were children and when we serendipitously reconnected at a weekend with a group of friends gathered in the country several years ago we immediately remembered one another from our friendship during our time together at Stage Door. We picked up right where we’d left off back then during those summers together at camp- and not long after that weekend, we fell in love. At Stage Door, we were in an environment where we were taught and given the space to laugh and share and inspire one another to do and be our best, which is how we spend our life together now- all in part thanks to those summers we were creating and using our imaginations together at Camp. We live together in Manhattan where I do my work as an actor and he works as a member of the legal team at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Encore: What have you been doing to stay creative at home?

Wyatt: Staying creative for me has involved reading, reading, reading, and more reading. I was already a big reader but now that the projects I had been looking forward to digging into are postponed, I’ve been spending several hours a day with whatever book I’m digging through. I find that reading is like going to the gym and getting a really good workout for my imagination. I’ve kept a journal since I was in middle school so I do that and I’ve also been cooking a lot of good meals for myself and Andrew and I’ve been doing the original 1982 Jane Fonda Workout (Advanced Version) every day- it’s a great workout and it’s fun. It’s important to stay fit in every way you can. Another wonderful creative part of the quarantine for me has been writing to and catching up with friends from a distance.

Encore: How has theatre and Encore impacted your life?

Wyatt: Theatre has always enriched my life by teaching me about what I don’t already know and allowing me to share what I’ve learned as well as my heart with the people who come to experience what I’ve created with me. Encore taught me that I have the ability to do so and gave me my first opportunities to discover this about myself.

Encore: Any words and wishes to share with students interested in trying out theatre?

Wyatt: Go for it! Have fun! Be brave and if that means standing up in front of a group of other kids to sing a song or if that means approaching a lunch table of kids you don’t feel like you know very well yet- go for it! You’ll learn so much about yourself by taking chances that might seem scary.

Many thanks to Wyatt for taking the time to share such lovely Encore memories with us! We appreciate you and wish you nothing but the best in all of your future projects.

If you or your family members find yourselves searching for connection and creativity during this uncertain time, please join us for a virtual summer camp program! Our staff has been hard at work developing engaging and unique virtual content since March and we can’t wait to share it with all of YOU!

Join us tomorrow morning (Saturday, May 30) for a fun and informative Open House event via Zoom as we share all about our summer camps both virtual and in-person! Virtually meet the teachers that will be joining us this year and see some of their special talents. Hear from the camp directors and learn their plans for taking summer online if necessary. Experience a sample class to get a taste of what a virtual camp program could look like for your students. Our staff will also be available to answer questions from the audience.

“Kindness and Enthusiasm” w/ Alum Wyatt Fenner

Encore Stage & Studio

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