From the Director's Chair
Hello, Roswell High School!
My name is Trey Rutherford. I am a native of Elberton, Georgia, and I graduated from Elbert County Comprehensive High School in 2013.
I went on to study Theatre at Georgia College & State University, focusing primarily on acting and directing. My senior capstone included serving as a Teaching Assistant for Acting I and Directing I students. During my undergraduate career, I originated the roles of Jack in Iona Sun’s Blindfolded at Georgia College, Richard in Iona Sun’s Reminder at the Birdhouse Theatre, and Brandon in the Alliance Theatre’s workshop reading of Winston Wilson’s SuperLoser. I also appeared in three consecutive productions of Georgia College’s The Nutcracker as The Mouse King.
Following that, I decided to go into the teaching profession, learning that my passion was not - as I had originally thought - in my own performances, but in working with younger actors and directors to enhance their work. I went on to earn my Master of Arts in Teaching from Georgia College in 2018. While earning my M.A.T., I also earned recognition in the form of a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) directing nomination for my work on Georgia College’s 2017 production of Charles Mee’s Big Love. Though I studied as part of the English teaching cohort, I actually completed my formal student teaching experience in a drama classroom at Baldwin High School in Milledgeville. I taught two levels of Theatre, coached three to Governor’s Honors Program semi-finals (two of which were named finalists for Theatre), and mentored a senior-directed production of Almost, Maine.
The experiences I gained throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies shaped my philosophy of theatre education, which I believe can be summed up in a single phrase: excellence is earned. It is my belief that an unwavering commitment to the process of honing and refining our craft as individuals will cause tremendous growth as a whole.
In order to facilitate opportunities for growth, students must be given as many opportunities to shape their art as can be accomplished within a given time span. As such, it is my plan to build each year’s season to incorporate as many opportunities as possible for each one of our students to gain experience in performance, design, composition, and direction.
I have taught the past two years in Forsyth County. I have also worked as a teaching artist and guest director at Forsyth Academy of Performing Arts and recently directed a one-act version of Monty Python’s Spamalot as part of FAPA’s 2020 summer season. I have also co-directed Neil Simon’s Rumors and performed in Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some) at FAPA in addition to teaching several workshops ranging from Viewpoints to Meisner.
I live in Cumming with my wife, Nicole, and daughter, Sophia. We have one dog, Jack.
I am excited to begin working this summer to develop a Season of Excellence and to begin my time as Director of Theatre at Roswell.
Go Hornets!