Peter Sham

Professor of Theatre Arts

  • Cedar City UT UNITED STATES

Specializing in Suzuki movement, directing and producing musical theatre, and character development for actors

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Biography

Peter Sham is associate professor of theatre at Southern Utah University. He’s been a regional actor/director for over 35 years, and is known nationally and internationally for his work as bookwriter/lyricist for "Lend Me A Tenor The Musical" (Brad Carroll, composer), which celebrated a successful run at the Gielgud Theatre on London’s West End and is currently enjoying first class productions throughout Germany, Australia and in select theatres across the United States.

Most recently Sham wrote the book, music and lyrics for "Under Construction: The Blue Collar Musical!" which had its world premiere at The Neil Simon Festival, summer 2017. Professor Sham is the author of the musicals Toyland, and It’s a Dog’s Life: Man’s Best Musical, and the plays A Christmas Carol: On The Air (also written with Brad Carroll), its sequel Frankenstein: On The Air, Shakespeare’s Moby Dick, a classical adaptation of Herman Melville’s American novel, and Killer Kane (written with William Peter Blatty – The Exorcist).

A veteran regional and off-Broadway actor for over 35 years, he was a principal member of the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival for 12 seasons, and has performed at such places as The Neil Simon Festival (for which he now serves as artistic director), Asolo Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Eastside Playhouse, Perry Street Theatre & Artpark.

Sham has directed over 85 productions throughout the Eastern United States and Utah and has served as artistic director of the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center in Hanover, Pennsylvania and Bristol Valley Playhouse in Naples, New York.

Sham earned a master of fine arts in acting from the University of Delaware.

Spotlight

1 min

SUU Departments Collaborate on New Horror Film, Far Remote

Far Remote, a horror film project directed by Peter Sham, is the story of an obsessed professor who uses a study abroad trip to get revenge on the white creature who compromised her innocence many years before, endangering her student’s lives. Far Remote is loosely adapted from the classic tale of Melville’s Moby Dick reimagined for a pandemic world. It also includes recognizable faculty and staff from different departments across campus. “The pandemic was actually the biggest inspiration for my writing and directing the film," said Sham. "I desperately wanted to find a project that would be challenging, new, exciting, and most importantly, enjoyable for our students to be a part of during this most difficult of academic years. I wanted to adapt Moby Dick into a pretty much all female cast. I began to reimagine the story as a study abroad trip that goes wrong. What would happen if an obsessed faculty member used one that goes to Romania for the purposes of revenge? That was all I needed to get started! During Christmas break, I devised the treatment and began writing in February. I wrote the screenplay in 13 days and we began shooting the film the second week of March!”

Peter Sham

2 min

The Entire World is an Improv Right Now

The rise of COVID-19 in the United States has led to mass closures in the entertainment industry. While Broadway originally planned to reopen by the fall, the continued devastation brought on by COVID-19 has pushed theatres to remain closed until summer of 2021. With these closures and postponements, theatre students and actors have struggled to find a way to explore their creativity and express themselves in a safe environment.These closures have led many to wonder what this means for the future of art and theatre, as many regional theaters and companies have had to face massive and irreparable economic hardship. Despite this hardship and panic, Peter Sham, associate professor of theatre at Southern Utah University, has found hope for new methods of theatre. “I think the whole world is an improv right now, it is theatre right now. We’re all kind of creating,” said Sham. According to Sham, it is those involved in theatre who are best able to adjust to the fear and panic brought on by COVID-19.“What we’re supposed to do is invent and create from scratch,” he said. “We’re supposed to come up with new ideas. We’re problem solvers, we’re critical thinkers. This is actually, in some strange, weird, alternate universe, a great way for us to figure out how to say, okay, here’s the script. How do we adapt to it?”Sham’s experience with COVID has led him to try new forms of theatre, including an online theatre festival run by SUU students and alumni. Throughout the fall semester, Sham has adjusted his teaching style for both acting and directing students to help facilitate learning how to create new art in this new age of theater. Sham is known nationally and internationally for his work as bookwriter/lyricist for "Lend Me A Tenor The Musical" (Brad Carroll, composer), which celebrated a successful run at the Gielgud Theatre on London’s West End. A veteran regional and off-Broadway actor for over 35 years, he was a principal member of the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival for 12 seasons, and has directed over 85 productions throughout the Eastern United States and Utah and has served as artistic director of the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center in Hanover, Pennsylvania and Bristol Valley Playhouse in Naples, New York.

Peter Sham

2 min

Sherlock Holmes Returns - Writing an Interactive Audience Show

A world-renowned playwright, Peter Sham is bringing his writing back to the stage with Sherlock Holmes Returns, a musical premiering at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse in New Jersey on March 10, 2020.Peter Sham, associate professor of theatre at Southern Utah University, has been a regional actor/director for over 35 years. He is known nationally and internationally for his work as bookwriter/lyricist for "Lend Me A Tenor The Musical" (Brad Carroll, composer).“Writing for dinner theatre, especially an interactive audience show, is perhaps most exciting because of the inherently interactive nature the venue already brings. It's the whole experience from dining and dessert to the performance that makes it exciting to write for. The challenge of how to use all these elements and create a seamless entertainment throughout the whole audience experience is what drew me and excites me the most.”Sherlock Holmes Returns is Sham’s most recent production for the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, which was founded in 1981. The Playhouse puts on Broadway performances in a dinner theatre environment, creating an immersive experience that has drawn Sham in and reinvents the American idea of dinner theatre by directly involving the audience.The production centers around Holmes and Watson, presenting their relationship in a style reminiscent of Abbott and Costello as the pair work to find a hidden treasure and confront Moriarty. The dinner theatre environment lends itself to a mix of scripted acting and improv that makes the productions all the more exciting, as no two shows are ever the same.Sham has directed over 85 productions throughout the Eastern United States and Utah and has served as artistic director of the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center in Hanover, Pennsylvania and Bristol Valley Playhouse in Naples, New York. He is familiar with the media and available for an interview. Simply visit his profile. 

Peter Sham

Social

Industry Expertise

Graphic Design
Performing Arts
Education/Learning
Writing and Editing

Areas of Expertise

Stage Direction
Voice and Speech Training
Directing Musical Theater
Voice Over
Producing
Musical Theatre
Playwriting
Lyricist
Artistic Direction
Producing Musical Theater
Character Development for Actors

Education

University of Delaware

M.F.A.

Acting

Accomplishments

Artistic Director

Neil Simon Festival

Excellence in Theatre Education Award

Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, 2013

Scholar of the Year

Southern Utah University, 2013

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Affiliations

  • Actor's Equity Association
  • American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
  • Voice and Speech Trainers Association

Media Appearances

To Catch a Thief to be Adapted Into a New Musical

Broadway World  online

2023-04-05

Perry Street Theatricals has announced plans for a new musical, To Catch a Thief, which hopes to arrive on the London or New York stage sometime in the 2026-27 season. The new musical will be composed by Kevin Purcell (Rebecca: The Musical and The Stranger of Seville), with a book and lyrics by Peter Sham (Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical and Sherlock Holmes and the Great Royal Goose Chase!).

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Hunterdon Hills Playhouse celebrates 40th anniversary with ‘Sherlock Holmes Returns!’

NJ.Com  online

2022-03-07

According to the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, “You’ll laugh and cheer and maybe even become a suspect in this merry mystery, musical farce. Depicting Holmes & Watson with an uproarious Abbott & Costello flair, the musical is written by Peter Sham and Brad Carroll, award-winning authors of the West End hit, ‘Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical.’”

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Playbill Vault's Today in Theatre History: June 15

Playbill  online

2021-06-15

2011 Lend Me a Tenor The Musical, based on the hit Ken Ludwig stage comedy, opens in London at the West End's Gielgud Theatre. The musical features a book and lyrics by Peter Sham and music by Brad Carroll.

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Courses

THEA 1033 Acting I

An intensive studio approach to introduce the student to the basic principles of acting and its artistry through vocal and physical awareness, character development, and analysis.

THEA 3131 Professional Aspects of Theatre

Specialized course designed for those intending to enter the professional theatre. Special topics and techniques are taught by faculty and professional artisans in a variety of areas such as: performance, audition, design, management, and technical areas in preparation for pursuing post baccalaureate employment or graduate studies.

THEA 3613 Directing I

A methods course designed for the beginning directing student. Students will learn the terminology and fundamentals of stage direction.