Christianne Greiert’s couldn’t stay off the stage, whether she was doing local productions in her town of Saint Joseph, at Truman State University, and eventually all the way in New York City.
“I was four-years-old and I was at a production of Fiddler On The Roof,” Greiert said. “I was captivated that there was an event happening in front of me. After that I was always asking my parents when do we get to go to the theatre or the concerts.”
Greiert takes pride in being a Truman State University alumnus and is returning to her alma mater this week to talk about her theatre production company, Clutch Productions, for Truman’s Women and Gender Studies Conference.
“I started [Clutch Productions] to empower women to create new work,” Greiert said. “We commissioned up and coming playwrights to craft new plays where the cast had to be at least 50% women, and it had to be a story about women and for women. It needed to tackle some of the gender issues women deal with across the world. It didn’t have to be controversial but it had to speak towards women of a certain age trying to make forward progress in life.”
As a small town girl from the Midwest who made it into the cutthroat acting industry, Greiert hopes to offer encouragement and advice to up and coming actors at Truman and students in general about perseverance.
“You can sit back and wait for opportunity to cross your path and think that at some point doors will,” Greiert said. “But instead of sitting back and waiting, you need to be willing to risk something that will open up opportunity. Don’t sit back on your heels ever, keep moving forward, figure out what it is you want and be willing to fall on your face doing it.”
She offers these encouraging words and many more at 5:30 PM this Thursday in Ophelia Parish.
For more about Greiert and Clutch Productions, click here.