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Brian Gligor

Brian GligorBrian GligorBrian GligorBrian Gligor

Brian Gligor

Brian GligorBrian GligorBrian GligorBrian Gligor

Who am I?

...... (I'm Jean Valjean).     On stage I've been trusted with technically challenging leading-man roles. I've studied and taught stylized movement, heightened text, voice & speech, singing, stage combat, improv, dance, and acting technique. Nothing makes me happier than working out precise blocking for a farce or tearing apart the complexities of a Shakespearian verse.      


 Off stage I am a Jersey Boy who gets the job done (and loves his Ma), and a Romanian-American who indulges in digging deep to the roots of a story. Gligorea. 

Collaboration, Character, Movement, Speech, Specificity, Commitment, and REHEARSAL

Rehearsing a scene from The 39 Steps with Katie Cunningham. 

Directed by Kate Buckley, with David Kortemeier and David Alley as the Clowns. We sold out the run for the Clarence Brown Theatre and created one of the most exciting shows I've ever been a part of.

Brian Gligor Headshot &Resumé (pdf)Download
Brian Gligor CV (pdf)Download

RENT was a big part of it

I took the 11A in from Jersey to sleep on the street for those front row $20 rush tickets. After my undergrad at Syracuse University my dream came true too early and I played Mark in the National, Canadian, and Japan Tour (2003-2004). 


Music, Family, Being Gay, New York City, Life, Community... it was all part of it. 

After that: rock musicals with regional theatres, all the soaps, and some wild off-broadway gigs

Member of The Players Club

Artist in Residency

I found an artistic home at the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville (of all places), where I was able to perform some phenomenal roles as well as direct, choreograph movement, coach dialect, and produce.

Clarence Brown Theatre

Acting & Teaching...

I started teaching at The Gateway Playhouse which inspired me to get my MFA. Along the way I also studied with dozens of coaches, the SITI Company, The Groundlings, and Upright Citizens Brigade. I found the blissful union of teacher and practitioner that has defined my career as it is today. While performing I've taught graduate and undergraduate Acting, Suzuki, Viewpoints, Voice & Speech, Corporeal Mime, Stage Combat, and Theatre History at Wesleyan University and the University of Tennessee.

Some highlights...

I Am My Own Wife

In 2015 I produced and performed a successful run of Doug Wright's Pulitzer Prize winning play I Am My Own Wife with the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was the region's first production of this LGBTQ themed one-person play, and by partnering with local organizations we were able to raise over $25,000  to support local LGBTQ community organizations.

Collaboration with Jin Hi Kim

I applied text and movement to the intoxicating musical expressions of Guggenheim fellow  Jin Hi Kim during the heightened conflicts with North Korea in 2017 & 2018. We performed together at cultural events hosted by Wesleyan University, Yale University, and at the opening celebration of the Asian Wing at the Detroit Institute of Arts with an ensemble of phenomenal East Asian musicians.

Singing Sibella at The Players Club

Covid cut my season short just before I had the opportunity to play a dream role of mine, Monty in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, composed by my voice coach and dear friend Steven Lutvak. I finally was able to sing this song at the reopening of The Players after Covid. 

Shakespeare

I've read the whole cannon, I've performed in many, and I don't exaggerate when I say I've seen over 100 productions of the Bard's work. I love Shakespeare. That said, I also love Pinter. 

Stage Combat

I am a fortunate apprentice of John Sipes, who was the fight choreographer for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for many years, and had studied with Suzuki Tadashi and Etienne Decroux. I was in several physically challenging productions he directed, including I Am My Own Wife, Midsummer, King Charles, and Titus Andronicus, as well as many others that he managed the combat sequences for. I have also often served as his Assistant Director and Teaching Assistant. 

Directed RENT for Sex Week at the University of Tennessee

In 2015 the controversial student organization Sex Week at UTK assembled a week of events to discuss sex education without the support of the university. I was proud to direct an ensemble of graduates, undergraduates, and community members for a sold out run.

Learned to Breakdance

I can't imagine a show more challenging or rewarding.. When Altar Boyz  is done right it is my favorite kind of theatre. Intimate, direct address with the audience, complex and committed characters, and a spectacle of song and dance technique. 

Taught students with special needs in my THEA100 lecture

My Introduction to Theatre course at UTK culminated with a festival of  student-created productions that highlighted different genres of theatre throughout history. Some of my students were part of UTK's Future Program, and we worked together to create a piece that showcased their talents. 

Current Projects

A Christmas Carol Singalong TrunkShow

An immersive theatrical experience where the audience is already cast as the Londoners who live in Dicken's story, they just don't know it yet. Three actors bring this show together as the spirits who help Scrooge along his journey, narrated with original text from Dickens himself. 

The National Theatre Festival

An annual celebration of theatre history with new works , a showcase for theatre companies and artists from around the country, and a platform to discuss the future of theatre arts. 

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