Gregory Pember, who received his training from The Boston Conservatory, made his Roxy debut last season as Frankie in Forever Palid and as Jack in Into the Woods. Other past performance credits include Oklahoma! (Interlakes Summer Theatre) and Little Shop of Horrors (Norman Rothstein Theatre), among others. This season, Gregory returns to the Roxy stage for Hamlet (Hamlet) and Bea(u)tiful in the Extreme.
Over the past few weeks I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of my family this Thursday! They are traveling all the way from Vancouver, Canada to come see Hamlet here in the “Gateway to the New South.” The support that I receive from my family is overwhelming and incredibly inspiring and this is just another manifestation of their support and encouragement. Not only are my parents coming, they are bringing a Canadian entourage with them from the west coast, some of which have never seen me perform or have not seen me on stage since I was in high school! My aunt, uncle, brother, his girlfriend and two very close family friends will all be in attendance this weekend at The Roxy. It will be such a treat to have a taste of home come to visit me in Clarksville and take part in this exciting production of which I am very proud. The show has come so far since Day One of rehearsals and I am honored to be working with such dedicated, talented professionals.
I was speaking with Keith Panzarella (Laertes) a few nights ago at the cast house and we were discussing how crucial it is to have a strong support system whilst pursuing a career in this business. With all of the rejection and hurdles we face everyday while looking for work it would be almost impossible to remain motivated and driven to work the hardest you can if you did not have the support of your loved ones who believe in your talent and your passion. Since I am one of the lucky ones who has this support system I could not imagine NOT putting in as much effort as possible and trying to make the most of everyday as I establish myself as a professional in this business. This past weekend I had the pleasure of spending time with the Thompsons (Kendall Anne Thomson’s parents) and they are another great example of what it means to have unconditional support in the world of theatre. I told Kendall that since I know how much they support her and her drive to perform, I could not help but feel supported and encouraged just knowing that they were in the audience for our opening weekend. I was very excited for them to see the show since they had seen Kendall and I perform together at school and now they had the chance to see us together again, but in a professional setting! For this same reason, I am very excited for my parents and family to see both of us in action again! I hope that you all come out and take part in this exciting production this closing weekend at The Roxy!
