Bio
Brett Crandall (he/him/his) is a Kansas-born actor, writer, producer, puppeteer, and activist. An actor's life has always appealed to Brett since obsessing over PINOCCHIO, wearing out the tape. While studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Brett branched out to other creative mediums. His first full-length play, Felt Left Out, a LGBTQ+ history lesson parodying the Sesame Street characters, premiered in 2014, and is currently being workshopped into a musical. While working in New York City touring public libraries and schools with shows like Robin Hood and Pinocchio, Brett began building his own puppets and felt the lack of such enriching programming back in Kansas. So in 2018, Brett produced his first tour, presenting Dicken's A Christmas Carol for rural communities around Kansas, founding Brett Crandall Studios. Keeping the arts in Kansas, Brett has also scripted a pilot episode to be shot in Kansas in 2020, which will focus on the Midwest LGBTQ+ experience. Brett would like to thank his family for never doubting his dreams and being his first improv partners.
Photo by: Kaitlin Donovan
Make-up by: Calli Villanueva
Vision
I come from a rural, small town, once full of small businesses and new homes, that has slowed in its spirits. Learning many trades as a New York actor, I feel the need to bridge this gap in performance opportunities, for both artists and audiences, in different parts of the country. Brett Crandall Studios will grow artistic practices in the Midwest with an active practice producing theatre, with multiple shows touring a year. Between productions, Brett Crandall Studios relocates to New York City, workshopping stories set in the fly-by state from the lens of LGBTQ+ people, both contemporary and of generations past. In giving back to the town that gave me the nerve to dream big, I'm honored to create work, in theatre, film, music, literature, visual arts, and beyond, knowing in good faith, by doing so boldly, budding, small-town artists will be inspired to hone their crafts.