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Calling UNCG theater professor Jim Wren busy is a bit of an understatement. Between teaching, serving as a master of fine arts degree acting adviser, coordinating the university's performance program and serving as the resident fight choreographer at Triad Stage, he directed an off-Broadway play in New York. Now he's taking a group of students to the Kennedy Center in Washington to perform in the American College Theater Festival Wednesday. His schedule sounds draining, but Wren relishes every opportunity.

"It's been crazy busy," he says. "I can't even hardly speak about it, it's been such a whirlwind. But I would never whine or complain about being busy –– I'd much rather be busy than not."

Likened to taking a college basketball team to the Final Four, being chosen to participate at the Kennedy Center's American College Theater Festival is a high honor. Of the nearly 1,000 schools vying for a spot, only four productions get the call to perform. UNCG's production "The Revenger's Tragedy" was one of them. Adapted from the Thomas Middleton play, Wren co-wrote the play with Joe Sturgeon. It premiered at UNCG in November.

"It's a tremendous honor," Wren says. "But the thing I feel best about is our kids getting to go perform and be a part of this festival, especially since it's such a rare opportunity."

UNCG Theatre hasn't taken a production to the Kennedy Center since 1974.

Before the performance at the Kennedy Center, UNCG Theatre will present "The Revenger's Tragedy" as a warm-up for the event and to raise money to offset the cost of the trip.

Wearing his director's hat, Wren also spent some time in New York in March directing the off-Broadway musical "The New Hopeville Comics." During his time there, Wren caught up with former students living and working in the New York City theater scene.

"The worlds (of academia and professional theater) are closer than you would imagine," he says. "So much of what we do is to push our (students) into that world of working in the theater, to expose them to that world. Ideally I think that if I'm good at what I do here, I'm providing them with the foundation for what they will do out there."

That determination to prepare his students for their careers helps motivate Wren, a tenured professor, to continue pushing himself as an artist, too.

"That's what I find so interesting and engaging is to learn and help other people," he says. "It's an amazingly difficult career.

"I was so struck with being in New York this semester, at how dedicated these people are to work two or three extra jobs and then get to rehearsals and auditions. It's inspiring."

His determination inspires those around him, as well.

"Many professors achieve a tenured position and take it easy, but Jim continues to push himself," says Jody Cauthen, UNCG Theatre manager. "He is an amazing period-styles professor and a genius with acting Shakespeare and stage combat. He's also had amazing success as a playwright in recent years. He's the most amazing theater renaissance man."

And for Wren, working so much in so many different roles with different groups has reminded him why he fell in love with theater in the first place.

"I think for most all of us who work in the theater, one of the things that probably draws us most is that it's a collaborative art form," he says.

"The thing about theater is it's so dependent on your collaboration with the technicians, the producers, the performers. And it's so interesting to work with people and learn from them and hopefully give them a little of your world view, as well."

Contact Jennifer Bringle at jenniferbringle@gmail.com

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