Taylor’s theater department is welcoming back a community favorite.
This year, Conner Reagan (‘17) is starting off his first year as Taylor’s new theater director. From his extensive history in Taylor’s theatre as a student to his work since graduation, the permanent move to Taylor was an easy transition.
Reagan describes his new job as predominantly working on sets and with the production staff. He oversees all of the construction, props and light design and is there to help and direct in any area needed.
“He's there to help us along the way and give us direction when we need it,” said sophomore musical theatre major Hannah Embree. “He helps us if there's a technique we're not really getting, or trying to interpret something that the designer gives us . . . He’s a very easy going person and makes himself readily available.”
Reagan’s familiarity with Taylor’s program has been a huge benefit to this transition. Even after his time here as a student, he still stayed fresh, working in freelance set design and even doing the same for Taylor on occasion.
The job offer came unsolicited last year, after he assisted with last spring’s production of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”
"I was actually designing the last show that they did here, Mousetrap,” Reagan said. “And Tracy, meaning the director, came to me and said 'there might be a need next year for you to step in.'"
Despite the unorthodox hiring process, Reagan’s extensive experience served as a stellar job interview. From his acting in Margaret Edson’s “WIT” and Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” to his technical work in “Antigone,” Reagan has already built a name for himself in Taylor’s theatre department.
Reagan is bringing some of his own college experiences back to Taylor already as well. As a student, Reagan was part of a Playback Theater troupe. In this form of improv, actors take personal stories from the audience and bring them to life on stage. On Sept. 6 and 7, he hosted a workshop to teach this theater style to students.
The excitement around this workshop alone has already left some hoping for a more permanent incorporation of this form of theatre.
This approval seems to extend to every area he works in.
“We really remember those that have come before us,” Embree said. “We always talk about people who have graduated all the time. So when he came here, we already had this idea of him even if we didn't know him personally.”
From his experience of both being a student in the program to now running the program to being a student in the program, his popularity and experience speak to why he was hired.
No matter who it is or how he worked with them, everyone seems to see Reagan as a joy to work with.
“He has such a peaceful demeanor, and always brought a bit of sunshine when he was in the room just by his attentive nature,” Dance Instructor Kory Browder said. “I am so glad to see him back at Taylor University, feeding his knowledge and love into our theatre department.”
