As we wrap up January, we are bringing you yet another alumni interview! Gabriel Brown is an artistic director and voice over artist who was active at Encore for many years as an actor and teaching artist. Welcome, Gabriel!
Reintroduce yourself to us! Where are you now and what are you up to?
My name is Gabriel Ashton Brown, and I am currently living in southern Utah. I moved here after visiting my grandparents one winter, and I absolutely fell in love with the nature and Red Rocks of Utah. I’m currently working as artistic director at a local community theater here in St. George UT. As artistic director, I have a hand in all of our productions, assist with casting and team building per project, creative planning for events and how to promote our shows. St. George Musical Theater, SGMT, is a family-friendly in-the-round theater, and are currently constructing a brand new building in town which should be finished in 2026.
Do you have any fun or funny offstage memories from your time here?
I have so many fond and funny moments on and off stage with Encore. My first show I did with Encore was The Little Mermaid Jr, and my little brother, Zollie, joined me in this cast. In the song “Kiss the Girl,” all of the ensemble characters were involved in some form; either as seagulls, starfish, water, moving the boat around, etc. However, Zollie, was the only fish put on stage, which I found extremely amusing, as the fish costumes were the felted fish heads. I nicknamed him “lonefish” and together we created a VERY silly backstory for this lone fish singing chorus to this romance song. Every time I listen to that song, I think of my brother and I know he does too!
What skill or word of wisdom did you take away from working with Encore?
I have learned so much from working with Encore. Both from doing shows and from working throughout their summer camps and from interning with Encore. It is the foundation to everything I do as an artistic director in a family-friendly theater. I feel very confident teaching and working with people of all ages and backgrounds. One of the greatest takeaways I’ve had from working at Encore was improving on my active listening skills. And that’s been useful in my work and in my day-to-day life!
Why do you think theatre is important for young people?
Theater is SO important for young people, even if it’s not what you decide to pursue for your career. Theater, like sports, a club, or social hobby hones team building skills AND creative problem-solving. It can build confidence and be an avenue of expression, and it can be a creative playground for people to make friends, get up on your feet and move your body, and to feel a shared experience with other people. The power of community, especially in the disconnected, 21st century and in an AI-driven world, cannot be stressed enough. Encore, I would argue, is not just a fun outlet for kids, but rather an essential tool in connecting communities together when so many people are feeling pulled apart.
What is one way your theater experience has helped you offstage?
Doing shows at Encore helped me become more aware: aware of myself, aware of others, and aware of my environment. It was a crucial step towards being the person in a cast who says “I’ll play” to whatever game/scene/activity. At a certain point, once you’ve internalized that awareness, you don’t need to be reactive to what goes on on stage, you just behave and do. I also know so many games from my time at Encore, and they’ve become handy in EVERY show I’ve directed.
We love highlighting Encore friendships, is there anyone you keep in contact with from your days at Encore?
There’s a ton of people at Encore that I love! Both from a teaching and production team standpoint, and also from a cast perspective; Meagan Pierce, Carla Astudillo-Fisher, Martha Grace Berkeley Moore, Lisa Shaw, David Armando, Will Westray, just to name a few gems!
What’s your favorite play or musical as an audience member?
My favorite musical changes very often, but right now I would say my favorite musical as an audience member is Jersey Boys. All the Frankie Valli songs are so much fun and the way the story is told has been my favorite format for a jukebox musical!
Encore’s season this year is about courage — how can we learn courage through theatre?
The first step to cultivating courage through theater is by pretending you are “a brave person”. What does that look like to you? Is there someone this embodies in your life or maybe look up to? Are you outspoken about your beliefs? Are you leading with curiosity and compassion? You have the ability to be a hero, too, but first you have to believe it and adjust your self-perception. Courage is grown.
Lastly — we’re having an Encore alumni reunion in July at Footloose, will you be there?! Or can you share a message from you to share at the event?
I won’t be there, unfortunately, but to everyone there I say hello, I miss you, and that if I’m ever in town again, we’ll all have to catch up <3 . Love Gabe!
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’ve been doing voice over professionally since 2021, when I booked my first commercials and have been working in VO ever since. I mostly do commercials and explainer videos, but really enjoy educational content, video games and character roles. I can’t say what the next job is yet because I’ve signed an NDA, but it’s an animation and I’m SO excited!!
Just this past May, I joined the creative team at the St. George Musical Theater in St. George, Utah, where I was brought on board to be their new artistic director. This means I have a hand in how each show gets created, who’s on board for each team, and am there to help the directors and production team create a cohesive show.
I still perform from time to time, and have even worked on some film projects.
Encore really propelled my career forward. I did my first show with them when I was 16 for their 2013/2014 production of The Little Mermaid. Then I was in their summer production of Once Upon A Mattress and then in The Music Man.
After doing a few shows with Encore, by the time I started studying musical theater in school, I knew I wanted to intern at Encore. This was so valuable for me, as I learned to hone my craft as a director and then was brought on to work their summer camps and classes throughout the year.
Community theater and educational theater are a driving force for me. It’s so important in building communication, teamwork, social, and confidence skills. I really do believe that extracurriculars like community theater, a club sport, a book club, etc. are how we “save” young people. I believe this, because I have lived it.
Thanks for catching up with us, Gabe! It’s awesome to see what you’re up to now, and we look forward to seeing what awesome things come next!
Photos contributed by Gabriel Ashton Brown, blog contribution by Parker Nelson.