Ksenya Wong ’28
Photo courtesy of Daniel Grayberg
At the start of this school year, Episcopal Academy welcomed a new faculty member into the Theater Department, Daniel Grayberg. Taking on the role of Technical Director and Theater Manager, he has been working hard to form a perfect, 1800s-themed set for the Domino Fall Play production, Pride and Prejudice.
Before his work at Episcopal Academy, he was originally part of his school’s band and chorus. After finding his way to theater and playing Prince Dauntless in Once Upon a Mattress, he became very involved in theater throughout the rest of his high school career, going back to back between shows and auditions. This inspired him to major in voice education and minor in musical theater at Westminster Choir College.
After graduating, he proceeded to teach at schools as a music director and moved to Coatesville with his wife. However, he soon discovered that he had bigger dreams for theater in Coatesville. In late 2017, he and his wife created a theater called Revival Productions, which ran out of Gordon Elementary. With Revival Productions, he produced Lion King Junior and Frozen Junior and hosted intensive workshops. Through these productions, he focused on learning more about the technical aspects of theater. His passion for lighting and sets of theater grew, leading him to look for other opportunities for him to use his knowledge outside of Revival Productions. The experiences he had outside of Revival Productions at different times taught him many lessons. He remarks, “You’re learning how to navigate all of these different situations, how problems arise. How do you fix them? That was mostly what I learned how to do during that time.”
He has taken his wisdom from these lessons and brought it to Episcopal Academy with him to be able to share it with the tech crew of Pride and Prejudice. He has shared the importance of flexibility. The director of Episcopal Academy’s Pride and Prejudice, Daniel Clay, attests, “Whenever you have a new person come in, they’re always wise to kind of learn how things work in the organization. I think Mr. Grayberg has really been good at coming in the middle of the year and taking it day by day and honoring the way that it worked before.” Furthermore, many students, actors, and technicians alike are interested in seeing his take on creating a set for Pride and Prejudice, as well as seeing what he will add to future productions. Samantha Slye ’27, who plays the female lead in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet, expresses her excitement for Grayberg’s work, saying, “When working in the arts, ingenuity and creativity are so important, and those are two qualities that look different in different people. So having a new technical director will come with lots of new ideas and a new wave of creativity.” Members of the tech crew are also interested in seeing his expertise in lighting shine throughout the shows of the production, running October 30, October 31, and November 1.
Outside of his role as Technical Director at Episcopal Academy, he is a father of two girls, a bowling enthusiast, and an avid movie lover. He also works in lighting for the Brandywine Ballet in their production of Dracula. Grayberg gains much of his inspiration from movies and other theater productions. He is excited to share his experience with Episcopal Academy in future productions.
