Community Players officials announced on Thursday that Tyler Rinne will be the next managing artistic director.
The vacancy was a result of Jamie Ulmer resigning for a similar position in Lawrence, Kan.
Rinne said he has always been interested in the theatre.
“I did a lot of theatre in high school and was involved in speech,” he said. “I loved to tell stories even when I was a kid.”
After graduating from Johnson-Brock High School, Rinne was attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln hoping to be a film director and writer.
“I was really missing being on stage and was looking for semi-local auditions," he said. "I was cast in a summer show at Community Players in 2007 and felt like this theatre has been home since.”
Rinne graduated from UNL with a degree in Film and New Media. The Associate Artistic Director position was being created and he was hired.
People are also reading…
He’s currently in rehearsals for the latest of over 40 shows he’s directed for Community Players. He will be opening the mainstage production of PUFFS in late March and then his final Acting Up production of The Neverending Story.
Acting Up is the youth program Rinne has been directing in his position as the Associate Artistic Director. He said it’s bittersweet to know this will be his final show with the students.
“It’s been one of the joys of my life to work with so many great kids as we brought classic book adaptations, plenty of fairy tale spoofs, and our fair share of world premieres to the stage.”
One of his first orders of business as the Managing Artistic Director will be to fill the Associate Artistic Director.
“I want to keep the Stage Door programming alive and make sure the kids are taken care of,” he said.
Rinne said there was a lot to be excited about in his new role.
“Honestly, it would be easy to just put my nose down and keep doing the work,” he said. “But I’m excited to keep Community Players as a place of artistic expression and connection for the community.”
“I’m excited to work on more mainstage shows and keep doing some of the things that I’m doing.”
New risers will be delivered at Community Players during the next week. Rinne said that during the next production the theatre will be arranged differently.
“It will be fun cosmetic and artistic change,” he said.
The Community Players Cabaret will be held Saturday evening at 7:30. It is a fundraiser for the theatre and will only be offered for one showing. More information can be found on the Community Players Facebook page or by calling 402-228-1801.
