Reggie Guyton is an actor, director and performing artist, sought after not only for his artistic abilities, stage presence, and virtuosity, but also his empathetic nature, which enables him to connect with and mentor so many in finding their passions in art and in life. Reggie identifies as a Cisgender Queer (Pansexual/Bisexual) Black man.
For the past seven years, Reggie has held professional positions with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, IL, performing as the first-ever Black actor in the solo “Ghosts of the Library” show. At the museum, he also does promotional and exhibit voiceover work and has recently developed a living history theatrical character piece about Robert Smalls, a formerly enslaved person who freed himself, commandeered a Confederate ship, and ultimately became a member of U.S. House of Representatives during the Reconstruction era.
Reggie has appeared on stage in a range of theatrical productions including Hairspray and Dreamgirls at the Springfield Muni Opera, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the Springfield Theatre Centre, and as Walter Younger in A Raisin in the Sun at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. He has also designed lighting and sound and serves on the board of the Springfield Theatre Centre, where he developed and implemented a series of Master Classes and directed and starred as Citizen Barlow in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. He recently served on the Springfield Muni Opera’s board for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and directed their production of Ragtime in summer 2022. Later this year, he will star as Lola in Kinky Boots at The Legacy Theatre.
Reggie holds a BA in Performing Arts from Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL, where he recently received the Alumni Early Achievement Award, awarded to alumni who have demonstrated significant achievements before the age of 40. He returned to Blackburn as an adjunct to direct Brighton Beach Memoirs. Other directing credits include Seussical: The Musical for Summer Repertory Theater in Carlinville and the critically-acclaimed Hoogland Center for the Arts production of Memphis the Musical, which served as a catalyst for addressing racial equity and inclusion in the Springfield arts community. He was engaged by the Springfield Area Arts Council and the Illinois Arts Council to create spoken word pieces addressing the common concerns and benefits of vaccination for the #VaxToGetBack project, performing the pieces at a large concert event in downtown Springfield.
