William Kilroy

SBRI Alumnus Guest Artist

It’s hard to believe that it was in 1981 that William first took to the stage in the SBRI production of Coppélia. The Narragansett Times did a cover story that year, with the headline: “Kilroy Comes Home to Dance.” That dancing began when William took ballet classes from Ms. Marsden while a theatre major at URI. Prior to his first performance as “Dr. Coppélius,” William was thrilled to have been able to confer with the incomparable Sir Anton Dolin at a meeting in New York City.  William is honored to have performed with Herci Marsden, Ana Marsden Fox, Barbara DeVivo, and so many other wonderful “Swanhilda”s through the years.  Yes, there were a few missed years while William was working as an actor in Los Angeles, but it has been
literally decades that William has had the joy of performing with the beloved company that is The State Ballet of Rhode Island.  Meanwhile, William has worked nationally as an actor and director, including roles such as “Steve” in Becky’s New Car, “Michael” in Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding and “Laertes” in Hamlet.  TV appearances include As the World Turns, All My Children, Babylon Five, and commercials. (Giselle), and “Lead Cowboy” in Ballet West, just to name a few.

Wil is the recipient of the Moss Hart Award, the Maine Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights Award, an acting scholarship for study with Uta Hagen, USM’s Advisor award, and USM’s Outstanding Teacher/Scholar Award, and holds Professor Emeritus Status at the University of Southern Maine. Currently William is the Department Head of Theatre Arts at New Mexico State University and is the
Managing Director of the American Southwest Theatre Company in residence there. This summer William appeared in a new play, Weighing In, at the Black Box Theatre of Las Cruces, NM. However, his favorite performing is playing “Dr. Coppélius” in the SBRI annual production of Marsden’s Coppélia.