In her stage directing, Cheryl Blalock builds on her diverse expertise in communications, project management, and knowledge of music, acting, languages and cultures.

She begins her process with a thorough study of the show, learning the background of the references and history of the various productions. Building on an initial concept and characters, Cheryl works with other artistic staff to develop an overall structure for the time, place, look and feel of the show. She stages productions that are traditional, updated or conceptual, depending upon the work, how frequently it has been performed, and the target audience.

Once performers are cast, Cheryl leads in the development of characters’ evolution building on the strengths and skills of the cast to develop each performance. Her goals are to express the music dramatically and to resonate with the audience with realistic performances and emotions from a vibrantly staged production with recognizable characters.

In the past 8 years, she has directed 6 fully staged operettas and written and produced multiple themed outreach programs for Lyric Theatre including The Gondoliers, Dollar Princess, Trial by Jury, The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore,and Die Fledermaus, and assistant directed The Mikado under the tuteledge of Don Tull. She previously assistant directed Gianni Schicchi and Marriage of Figaro under Daniel Helfgot at Inland Opera and West Bay Opera, respectively. Ready to talk with Cheryl about directing your show?

Images below are a sampling of stage productions that Cheryl Blalock has directed including HMS Pinafore, Die Fledermaus and Gondoliers.