Corin Reilly always wanted to be an actor. He found a way to live his dream as part of Encore Studios, a theater company for people with disabilities.
“I began acting when I was 18 years old,” says Reilly.
He loved it and knew that acting was what he wanted to pursue as an adult. Part of the appeal of the stage was telling and sharing stories. Reilly says that acting was the best way he could think of to tell stories.
He learned about Encore Studios from a caseworker and joined the acting company in 2001.
Kelsy Schoenhaar, the founder and artistic director of Encore, says that Reilly has innate acting ability.
“In his first performance with us,” Schoenhaar says, “he made the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal. I know I didn’t for the first thing I’d ever done!”
Reilly has acted in more than 40 plays in his time with Encore, in all kinds of roles. The company performs three original plays a year, many written by Schoenhaar herself.
“Romantic scenes are my favorite, however, I don’t get to play them very often,” says Reilly. “I would love to play the role of the wolf in Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods. I like playing mean characters. It’s a lot of fun!”
