Artist Spotlight: Carolyn Marie Wright
Actor, educator, director. On the field trip that started it, what she tells her students about being an artist, and how she found her way into a Pelham Fringe room.
Carolyn Marie Wright is an actor, director, writer, and educator. She has a BA in Theater Studies from Yale, an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU Steinhardt, and an MFA in Acting from UCLA. She grew up in upstate New York and now lives in Larchmont.
We sat down with her to talk about her journey as an artist, what inspires her, and the perspective she brings as both an artist and an educator.
When did you first know you wanted to do theater? And why?
There are two distinct moments. The first was in high school. I was a competitive gymnast growing up, so I was a late bloomer when it comes to theatre. During my senior year, I took a class called Arts English, and we went on a field trip to New York City and saw Rent. I had never seen or heard anything like it. I sat in the Nederlander Theatre in awe. The show was electric. I remember taking in the final scene with Mimi – and Angel was there – and thinking, I want to do this.
The second defining moment for me happened in 2015, after the tragedy in the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, when nine African American churchgoers were killed. At the time, I was performing in a sketch comedy show at The Second City Hollywood called This Is Not a Tan, written by Charity L. Miller. It was a satire and social commentary about how people of color experienced show business. We were together when Charleston happened, and I did a lot of listening. I was blessed to be in a community of artists where I was able to learn and discover how to be an ally and an advocate. A group of us got together to do something to honor the folks who lost their lives in Charleston. We formed Humanity Play Project and hosted a community event on Martin Luther King Day 2016.
You were a competitive gymnast in college. How did theater become part of your life?
Funny enough, my junior and senior year floor routine was choreographed to music from Chicago. I would do Fosse and then launch into a tumbling pass! But I always knew I wanted to do something with storytelling. At Yale, I ultimately majored in Theater Studies with a double concentration in playwriting and performance. After graduation, I moved to Chicago and pursued acting.
What was it about the Chicago scene that drew you in?
In college, I was an ensemble member of Yale Children’s Theater, touring across New Haven. We brought free theater to kids and families with limited access to the arts. I loved it! I also got into Shakespeare, which was equally uplifting and exciting. Chicago was the vibe I was looking for as a new actor. There is a ton of Shakespeare and children’s theater there…and rooting for the Cubs was also an adventure!
Something I admire about you, Carolyn, is your pursuit of education. What keeps bringing you back to school and training?
When I was in Chicago, I was taking classes at The Second City, and doing children’s theater and Shakespeare. I got cast in my first equity show as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at New American Theatre. The actor playing Puck was Gerson Dacanay, and I would go to rehearsal and watch him even if I wasn’t called, because he was so good. I eventually asked him, “How? How are you so good at this? I want to learn.” He told me about his MFA in acting. I knew then I wanted to go to grad school and hone my craft.
You teach at Fordham Prep and direct a summer theater program at the Onteora Club in the Catskills. What do you try to teach young people about being an artist?
There’s room for everybody. You can be happy for someone else’s success. Their success doesn’t take anything away from you. And if you’re in a room and you realize someone’s voice is missing, you can make room for them and bring them in. Make art wherever you are. It doesn’t have to be Broadway. It doesn’t have to be Hollywood. Just make art where you are. When you make art, you are an artist.
How did you find Pelham Fringe?
Through my friend and colleague at Fordham Prep, TJ O’Sullivan. I said I was looking for ways to get back into acting and playwriting, here in Westchester, and I was looking for “my people.” He told me about his friend’s wife – who happens to be Kate! He said, “She started this thing, it’s right up your alley.” So I signed up for the Shakespeare Lab this past April, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I was looking for a community with a professional level of talent, for people who are committed to the work, to the craft. If you cannot make it into the room every single night, that is okay. But when you show up, you’re all in.
Like Kate says, “New work. Bold artists. A room where it happens.” That’s Pelham Fringe.