EHS Has A New Director
As the new theater director for Ephrata High School (EHS), Reji Woods has a goal to give students a better theater experience than he had growing up in Gainesville, Fla. "I want to make sure students aren't lacking in things (they could be introduced to)," said Woods, who took over the position in June.
Woods hopes to expand how the program is offered. "Instead of just shows in the fall and spring, there will be a drama club and I will be the adviser," noted Woods, who wants to register the group in national acting societies. "So there's (theater) community year round," he explained. One way he hopes to expand the theater program is to bring in other theater professionals, including writers, to provide a week of summer workshops. "It would culminate in a showcase at the end of the camp," said Woods.
First introduced to EHS theater by former director Irving Gonzales, Woods came on board when he was asked to be a guest artist as the voice of the plant in a production of "Little Shop of Horrors." "(Gonzales) used it as a tool for me to talk to the kids about professional theater," recalled Woods. "To teach (students) how a professional actor prepares." Gonzales then asked Woods to be assistant director for the 2021-22 school year, later letting him know that he intended to retire in the spring of 2022 and encouraging Woods to apply. "I was at a crossroads," said Woods, who had been balancing a career of acting with teaching his own students. "I wanted to (teach) on a more structured level and to get to see kids progress from freshman year to graduation. (The opportunity) set my heart into motion."
Professional acting was not Woods' original career goal. "I went to school at first as a political science and economics double major," said Woods, who served as a congressional intern and had a job offer at a political consulting firm on the table, when he realized it was not his dream. "My heart was in theater," recalled Woods, who consulted with his mother on how to move forward. With her support, he attended University of Central Florida Conservatory Theater; in his senior year, he auditioned at the United Professional Theater Auditions in Memphis, Tenn. He was offered a part in the 16-person "Psalms of David" revue playing at Living Waters, then part of Sight & Sound in Lancaster. When Woods finished that contract in 2006, he headed to New York City. He worked out of New York, traveling around the country and eventually around the world until 2010, when he returned to Sight & Sound. He was asked to stay to be part of "Voices of Christmas," playing a character created for him. In 2013, he was ready to leave when he was offered a part in "Noah." At that point, he was dating Lancaster County resident Audra Martin. He stayed for "Noah," and he and Audra were married that year.
Woods' Lancaster County career also includes a solo cabaret at the Ware Center and "Portrait of a Lady," a show honoring women, at The Trust in 2015. From 2016 to 2017, he served as artistic director at Cavod Academy, and he works with the Miss Lancaster County Scholarship competition. Nationally, he has been seen in television shows, and he was part of a group that appeared on "America's Got Talent" in 2021.
More information on the EHS drama program may be found at https://easdpa.org/schools/ephrata-high-school/ehs-theatre.
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