Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater Arts (2008)

Education

• B.A., Drew University
• M.F.A., Virginia Commonwealth University

Contact

Email: cshorr@moravian.edu
Phone: 610-861-1489
Office: Arena Theater, HUB

Areas of Research and/or Expertise:

TBA

Biography:

Christopher Shorr comes to Moravian College from Petersburg, Virginia, where he was the the founding artistic director of Sycamore Rouge—a professional, non-equity theatre and performance venue.  Primarily a stage director, Shorr has also worked as an actor, playwright, and composer for theatre.  Through his work, he strives to prevent his audiences, his artists, and himself from succumbing to complacency.  He is particularly interested in the creation of new theatre pieces and in the aggressive re-working of classic texts.  His work has been seen Off Broadway in New York, Regionally in New Jersey and Massachusetts—and internationally in Romania and the Czech Republic.  In Virginia, he taught at TheatreVirginia, SPARC (School for the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community), the Visual Arts Center of Richmond (formerly the Handworkshop Art Center) and Virginia Commonwealth University.  In addition to his work as an artist and teacher, Shorr has been active in community-building and urban revitalization through the arts, serving on the boards of multiple non-profit organizations.  At Moravian, he is Artistic Director of the Moravian College Theatre Company, teaches Public Speaking and Art of the Theatre, and serves as advisor of Alpha Psi Omega—the dramatic fraternity.

"Theatre brings together the resources of many parties to create a single work that, in turn, brings a community together in a collective experience.  In a college environment, this sort of collaboration can involve students and/or faculty coming together from different departments, and can be incredibly rewarding—adding texture, depth and new perspectives to their academic work.  I want theatre at Moravian to build bridges.  It should bridge the gap between different segments of our campus community, and between the college and the wider community of Bethlehem.  It should also test boundaries.  It should raise questions, stimulate discussion, and challenge preconceptions. Through it all, theatre at a liberal arts college needs to focus on the growth and development of the student participant.  Our work should take our audiences and our artists on a journey that enriches them.”