Chris Corporandy

Chris Corporandy took an interest in theatrical performance at 4 years old, mesmerized by the puppet shows produced at Fairyland in Oakland, California. He quickly assembled a collection of stuffed animals, took his spot as puppeteer behind the couch, and began producing his own show series for parents, friends, and neighbors. He eventually began using children's stories as the basis for these puppet shows, making the move from improvisation to scripted adaptation. At the age of 7, he joined the Singing Boys of San Francisco Bay (later to merge with the San Francisco Boys' Chorus) at the urging of family friends at his church, St. John of God, a progressive Newman Center Catholic Church. While the Nativity reenactments each Christmas were never his cup of tea, he would end up finding a great deal of satisfaction through his work with the Singing Boys. Their summer camp proved difficult at such an early age; it was here he would have his first encounter with the perils of complicated blocking, in the end-of-summer performance of The Mikado. Nonetheless his sense of play and immersion in the life of the story was fully intact. The following summer, the choir began preparing for its appearance in the Oakland Opera's production of Carmen. Rehearsals were strenuous, and Corporandy often felt ill from the late nights at the opera house, but the magic of opening night provided him with an entirely new sense of joy. He took the reins of his role as a street urchin and rode it with fervor for the duration of the opera's run. The following year at summer camp, a friend recommended that he try acting classes at the New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. Corporandy left the Boys' Chorus and joined NCTC's summer camp the following year, and in the midst of this experience, after considering the many signposts he'd seen along the way, declared to his parents, at the age of 10, that he truly knew what he wanted to be when he grew up: an actor. Although his parents had been divorced for most of their only child's life, and disagreed on a great number of issues, they both thoroughly supported this decision, and continue to be proponents of his acting career to this day. He stayed at NCTC for four years, participating in classes, performances, and camps year-round. He also performed in plays in middle school, as well as securing his first role with an independent theatre company at the age of 12, in Shakespeare & Co.'s production of Arthur Miller's "Incident at Vichy." He also performed in their production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and in another opera, Der Rosenkavalier, with the SF Opera. Corporandy continued to pursue acting work throughout high school and began to gain a reputation as a stellar performer. He earned recognition for "Outstanding Achievement in Theatre" upon graduation, and made his way from San Francisco to New York City, where he attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and while there, also made a study-abroad trip to Dublin, Ireland, working with teachers from Trinity College. After graduation from college with a BFA in Acting, he stayed in New York for three years and worked steadily, before deciding to get his MFA from Wayne State University's Hilberry Repertory Theatre in Detroit. His study abroad experience there included a one-month trip to the Moscow Art Theatre, and it was in Moscow, he proclaimed, that he "saw the best theatre" he had ever seen. He returned to the U.S. inspired to continue working towards making great theatre. It was also at the Hilberry that he met his future wife, Sarah Clare Meyer. In 2008, when Corporandy completed his MFA, he joined Miss Meyer in Philadelphia, but moved to Buffalo shortly after, when he was hired for two shows by Irish Classical Theatre. He was joined there by Miss Meyer. In 1½ years in Buffalo, Corporandy was offered 12 performance contracts, and took 8 of them, and received numerous outstanding reviews for his work. In 2009, just after her engagement to Corporandy, Miss Meyer was hired as a Professor of Arts Administration at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) - after having begun to work summers as Company Manager for Chautauqua Theater Co. (CTC) at the historic Chautauqua Institution. Corporandy joined her in Savannah in 2010, and later that year she was transferred to SCAD's Atlanta campus. In Atlanta, Corporandy was cast in two shows, and would later win the 2011 Suzi Bass Award for Featured Actor in a Play, for his performance as Robbie Ross in The Judas Kiss at Actors' Express Theatre, which was also critically lauded. Due to the climbing levels of production in Atlanta, Corporandy decided to more actively pursue film and TV work, and was cast in a speaking role in the feature film, Savannah. He considered this his first major opportunity as he had previously only done extra work and student films, and also because he would be directed by Annette Haywood-Carter (who had helped launch the careers of Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie) and would work alongside The West Wing's Bradley Whitford on-screen. While in Atlanta, he was also able to land his first agent, Houghton Talent, which would bolster his pursuit of film and TV work. He was cast in a featured extra role for the TV show Hidden City, and a handful of commercials. In the summer of 2011 he and Miss Meyer were married, and in 2012 the now Mrs. Corporandy was promoted to the Managing Director position at CTC, precipitating yet another move for the couple, to New York City, where Corporandy had been longing to return to build his career - and now a family - since departing in 2005.