UH ALUMNI WESLEY WHITSON RETURNS FOR HOUSTON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
WHITSON WILL PLAY ROLES IN BOTH KING LEAR AND CYMBELINE.
Wesley Whitson, an artist born and raised in Houston, began his professional career at the University of Houston. Since graduating, he has appeared all over the city delighting audiences. When off-stage, Wesley is an educator at The Alley Theatre where he mentors students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Recently, we spoke with Whitson about his education and career as he returns to perform in Houston Shakespeare Festival this summer.
Like many native Houstonians, Whitson chose to stay close to home and study his craft at the University of Houston. As a member of the Kathrine G. McGovern’s College of the Arts first graduating class, he acquired valuable knowledge and practical experience while earning his BFA in Acting at the School of Theatre & Dance. During his time at UH, Whitson made invaluable connections with local professionals and theatre companies and he credits his time at Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts as the key reason he stayed in this vibrant city full of opportunity, diversity, and culture.
"During a showcase my senior year which we were responsible for producing. We invited a number of local Houston Theatre companies to come watch our showcase. I was able to make a lot of connections through that, and just by existing in that theatre program. It was a pipeline into the arts scene in Houston.”
Wesley, like many other artists, appreciates the validity of the performing arts and its impact on society. "Theatre has always been a way for us to get to know one another better”, says Whitson, as a story-teller in 2022, his main goal is to start a conversation and he describes theatre as a tool to celebrate culture, bridge societal gaps, and up-lift people's voices. “Story-telling is innate. It's been a-part of human beings since the dawn of time."
"Theatre has always been a way for us to get to know one another better”
Wesley’s most recent appearance was in fellow Houstonian, Bruce Norris’s, Clybourne Park, a loose sequel to A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The story deals with race relations, property ownership, and injustice-topics that feel just as poignant today as during the time period they were presented. "It proved to me that this is so essential, what we do... and it can start really important conversations that need to be had."
Though Wesley has participated in Houston Shakespeare Festival before, this year he has been cast in King Lear as a character of the opposite sex, Princess Cordelia. “Playing this part is an act of unfastening myself and one of radical empathy. Cordelia means ‘the heart’ and I think Shakespeare was very intentional about naming her this. On one hand I’m excited to tell her story, on the other I’m terrified because I want to do it justice. There is a long line of brilliant Cordelia’s behind me”. Being back at the University of Houston's School of Theatre & Dance rehearsing for Houston Shakespeare Festival is a nostalgic experience for Whitson.
Whiston will join his former Acting Professor, Jack Young, who is playing the role of King Lear on-stage at Miller Outdoor Theatre July 28 - August 6.
“Working with Jack onstage has been a joy. He makes strong choices and is very present in the scene. It has encouraged me to step up to meet him. Lear is a difficult play but I am game for the challenge.”
Come see Wesley as Princess Cordelia in King Lear (July 28, 30 & August 1, 3, & 5) and as Cornelius in Cymbeline (July 29 & August 2, 4, & 6)
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