Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Gurley.
Hi Will, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I first got involved in theatre as a high schooler. I fell hard and I fell fast! Before my first ever musical performance, I was incredibly nervous. My director and mentor, Brian Miller, gave me the best piece of advice he could have: “Just tell the story.” Since then, I have been obsessed with telling good stories. I’ve worked all over Kansas City and studied under top professionals at Shenandoah Conservatory. But one thing was constantly missing: good stories with good messages. Art influences culture, and a lot of the art that I had been seeing was telling the audience messages that lead to destruction, division, and confusion. In the summer of 2023, I came to Jeremiah Enna
and the Culture House with an idea: a brand new professional theatre company that tells stories that matter; good stories with good messages. That idea evolved into the Balladeer Theatre Company. I hope to foster an artistic community with biblical values and collaboration– not just amongst the theatre artists, but also with the audience!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I was in high school, it was Broadway or bust. I was going to move to New York City and be a professional actor, so I went to school for a BFA in musical theatre. However, after a little over a year of being in that world, I saw so much darkness. I was just an actor, just a dancer, and was competing with hundreds or thousands of other actors and dancers just like me to be in the same five shows over and over again. I came to the hard realization that my definition of success– being on Broadway in New York– wasn’t what I wanted to do, and had to grapple with that. I moved back to Kansas City and was sort of directionless for a little while before I started working with The Culture House again. I realized that there are theatre artists just as good (and sometimes better) here in KC as there are in New York, and I wanted to help showcase that!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a theatre artist, and that means a few different things:
1. I act on stage (and sometimes on screen). I have a strong musical background but tend to perform in straight plays now.
2. I direct and design. All of the company members at Balladeer direct and design in some capacity, but I definitely consider directing one of my strengths. I also design lights, sound, and sets, but am most experienced with sound.
3. I write plays. A lot of the day-to-day work in our office is writing and developing new plays. Again, all of our team members write in some capacity!
4. I produce. I describe producing as getting the right people in the room with the right tools to do their jobs well.
I also handle the fundraising and development side of Balladeer, which is a whole other business skill set!
What does success mean to you?
As I mentioned, New York was success for me for a long time. After going through that trajectory shift, success to me is telling excellent, high-level, God-honoring stories through theatre.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.culturehouse.com/balladeer-theatre-company
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balladeertheatrecompany/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087136622984
- Other: https://www.culturehouse.com/balladeer-press
