A Full Circle Moment: Terry Guerin ’81 MA Returns to Villanova Theatre as Director

Terry Guerin ’81 MA calls it a full-circle moment.

Forty-five years after earning her master’s degree in Theatre from Villanova University, the long-time director of more than 100 productions is back where she discovered a passion for the stage.

“I walked over to Vasey, where I used to spend 15 hours a day,” Guerin said, remembering her time as a graduate student. “There are such incredible memories there.”

Vasey Hall, the former Villanova theatre space, is now home to the Office of Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as well as the Center for Graduate Research and Education, where current graduate students spend a lot of time preparing for their studies. So, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine Guerin in Vasey, decades ago, doing the same.

Vasey sits almost kitty-corner across Lancaster Avenue from the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, where Guerin is now directing Urinetown by Greg Kotis, running from April 16 to April 26. The Tony Award-winning dystopian satire that takes on capitalism and social justice is a play Guerin has directed before, at the high-school level, but this time, she gets to share the experience with Villanova graduate students.

“It’s an ensemble piece—the entire ensemble is engaged in creating this world,” she explained. “There’s a kind of tongue-in-cheek style, almost with a wink to the audience and we know the story we’re telling you.”

For Guerin, the play’s collaborative energy is part of what makes it so compelling.

“You’ll see actors participating in scene changes and engaging the audience directly,” she said. “It’s all very exciting and very, very funny.”

Working with Villanova’s current students has been a highlight. While she fondly recalls her own time in the program, she sees clear growth in today’s performers.

“[The students] are great scholars of theatre,” Guerin said. “And the program has moved progressively and positively with the times. But it still has a commitment to teaching all aspects of theatre and that’s exactly what we had.”

Her journey in theatre began as an undergraduate at Quincy University, where she initially studied art before discovering a passion for the stage.

“I moved into theatre just because I was interested,” she said. “And then I just loved it.”

That love deepened at Villanova, where she found a program committed to the full scope of theatrical craft.

After earning her master’s degree, Guerin spent a decade as a theatre instructor at Villanova; directed musicals for the University of Pennsylvania’s student-run Penn Players; was a middle school drama teacher at The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pa.; taught high school drama and literature at Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood, Pa.; and directed performances for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. She’s also a member and chair emeritus of the Pig Iron Theatre Company Board of Directors.

Even after a long and accomplished career, Guerin said Villanova feels like home. After all, she met her husband at Villanova, and they married at St. Mary’s Hall.

“Incredible memories, and a lot of joy,” she said.