Bob Shryock, a New York City based actor-creator, director, teaching artist, and producer visited Catawba College's campus in early October to teach a series of master classes on movement and mask work. More than 60 students took advantage of the opportunity to learn from Shryock, whose visit to campus was funded in part by Catawba's Young Theatre Artist Development Fund.
Catawba's Young Theatre Artist Development Fund was a fundraising effort begun by alumni, Denise Nuzum Perrino '74 and Dr. Ralph Perrino '71, in 2011 at a Blue Masque Hall of Fame event. The fund is used to support deserving Theatre Artsstudents by providing monies for guest artists, workshops, travel to conferences, and small scholarships. Contributions to the Young Theatre Artist Development Fund are encouraged and ongoing.
Born in Manila, Philippines, Shryock bounced around the United States growing up in a military family. He has a daring, playful imagination that forms a strong triumvirate with his passion for creating and his love of dynamic, engaging stories. He credits these things to an adventurous childhood. From always having access to books, to building bicycle ramps and toy swords with his dad's tools, to art projects with his mom, to just running around the woods all day with his big brother, he has always embraced the freedom to play and explore.
Shryock holds an MFA in Physical Theatre from the Accademia dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy, where he was able to train and study with some of Europe's best master artists. He was also in residence at the FLIC Scuola di Circo (Turin, Italy), the Berliner Schule fur Schauspiel (Berlin, Germany) and the Milano Teatro Scuola Paolo Grassi (Milan, Italy).
He is the Associate Artistic Director for Ripple Effect Artists and the Director of Training for Lev Leytzan, a professional hospital clown organization. He is also a Professional Hospital Clown for Lev Leytzan's ElderHearts program and works regularly with Zany Umbrella Circus (Pittsburgh). Shryock is a member of Oberon Theatre Ensemble (NYC), Theatre Resources Unlimited, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, and the Dedicated Actors Group. He serves as a stateside recruiting associate for the MFA program at the Accademia dell'Arte.
His research interests include physical/visual approaches to devising performance and physical storytelling. His graduate thesis is titled, "Visually Devised Theater: Mapping a Reproducible, Physical Approach to Devising an Original Theatre Piece Utilizing Variations on a Physical Score."
Shryock holds undergraduate degrees in Biology and Theatre from Western Kentucky University.
In his free time, he loves playing and writing music, photography, playing soccer, traveling ... and he's undefeated in thumb wrestling.
