
Graham Northrup is in his tenth year leading the education and training arm of Theatre Aspen. Graham received his MFA in Directing from Baylor University and serves as the administrator, lead teacher and director for both youth and adult theatrical training for Theatre Aspen School. He has taught classes from elementary to graduate school.
He has directed the teen Conservatory productions of Newsies, School of Rock, Spamalot, James and the Giant Peach, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Shrek, the Musical, Working, The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo and Juliet – the Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors and The Curious Savage, as well as The Phantom Tollbooth, Xanadu, Jr., Schoolhouse Rock, Live Jr., a musical version of The Hobbit and Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Jr. for Theatre Aspen School’s Spring Youth Production series.
He has coached, directed and associate-directed for other local companies including The Foreigner with Snowmass Chapel and Barrymore with the Hudson Reed Ensemble. As an actor Graham has been seen as Cogsworth in ACT’s production of Beauty and the Beast, FDR in Theatre Aspen’s reprise of Annie, John Adams in ACT’s production of 1776, Guy in the Fringe Festival staged reading of John Cariani’s Last Gas, Oliver Kilbourne in Theatre Master’s reading of The Pitmen Painters and more. He is also a voiceover artist and photographer, in addition to being a husband to a wonderful wife and father of five hard-working, beautiful daughters.
Graham’s approach to coaching and directing is to help actors explore their own creativity, encourage them to push through perceived barriers and take their performance to new levels of emotional honesty, physical expression and collaboration with their scene partners. He employs both physical and psychological/emotional techniques to help actors reach their most truthful and compelling performance.
graham@theatreaspen.org