Meet Sherry Boyd, Education and Community Programs Fellow

By Grace Clark, Education Enrollment and Marketing Coordinator

Sherry Boyd wants to help students find their path in theatre on stage and behind the scenes. As Hartford Stage’s first Education and Community Programs Fellow, Boyd, a college professor in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, Texas, has been immersing herself in various aspects of the theatre with vigor and enthusiasm.

In her year-long Fellowship, Boyd is gaining insight and sharing her experience in various areas including education, management, marketing, and community engagement.  She plans to bring new approaches and knowledge back to Texas, where she teaches fine arts, music and theatre appreciation courses at North Lake College in Irving. “I’m trying to take in a little bit of everything,” said Boyd. “There is a disconnect with what’s happening academically and how someone gets a job in regional theatre. I want my students to know there are multiple pathways. Most of them have no idea about these pathways that are available to them.”

Boyd brings a thirst for knowledge and relatability to students who are seeking avenues to careers in theatre. Born in Brownwood, Texas, and raised in Odessa, Boyd joined a traveling performance group immediately after high school. She journeyed across the United States and Europe with the group, Up with People (UWP), which features an international cast of singers, musicians and dancers.  Boyd credits that tour in the 1970s with changing her life’s path.

“It taught me to look beyond myself,” said Boyd. “To be able to have that world open up to someone at 17…it gave me a view that I never would have had. I might not have ever left Texas or pursued other things.” The experience not only inspired Boyd to seek opportunities beyond her small-town roots in Texas, but it cast a new vision for her career.

While touring with the group, Boyd’s interest in theatre sparked after she saw the Broadway production of The Wiz. “It was the first time I ever saw black people on stage on Broadway. I thought, ‘I can do that,’” she said.  Boyd’s can-do confidence and singing won her the talent competition in the Miss West Texas Pageant in 1975. Following marriage, college, and theatre performances, the aspiring professional singer later started and performed in a cover band, Crystal Image, named after her daughter, Christal. Boyd earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Music and a Master’s degree in Stage Management and Directing at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. Two years ago, at age 60, she received her Ph.D. in Directing and Arts Management at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

It was after receiving her doctorate that Boyd began looking for theatre fellowships. In addition to her goal to show students various avenues into the industry, Boyd plans to work to increase diversity in theatre on and off-stage.  At Hartford Stage, Boyd is particularly focused on Hartford Stage’s education programs. “I love the school programs and outreach to the community that Hartford Stage is doing,” said Boyd.  She cites Hartford Stage’s robust partnership with Capital Community College. “That this major regional theatre has a relationship with a community college is just wonderful because that’s the world I live in, “she says. “I want to go back to Texas and see if I can do that and use Hartford Stage as an example of how that can work.