Biography
Wayne Maugans has been working in theater, film, and television for more than thirty years. He has appeared on and off-Broadway and at regional theaters across the country. Some of his favorite roles include Steve Heidebrecht in August: Osage County (Broadway); Tom in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by Joseph Chaikin (Yale Rep); Chris in All My Sons by Arthur Miller, directed by Timothy Douglas (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Austin in True West by Sam Shepard, directed by Robert Rechnitz (Two River Theatre), and Ed in The Wake by Tammy Ryan directed by John J. Wooten (Premiere Stages). Other theaters Wayne has worked at include the Williamstown Theater Festival, Atlantic Theater Company, The Cleveland Play House, The Living Theatre, La MaMa ETC, Capital Rep, Primary Stages, Hudson Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theater Company, Theater for the New City, Seaside Music Theatre, Coconut Grove Playhouse, 59E59, 7 Stages, Blue Heron Theatre, and HERE Performing Arts Center.
Wayne began his career studying vocal performance at the New England Conservatory of Music from 1982 - 84. He transferred to the Acting program at New York University in 1986, earning his BFA in Acting in 1988. While at NYU, Wayne studied with Judith Malina and Hanon Reznikov, eventually becoming an ensemble member of the world-renowned Living Theatre. He also studied acting with William H. Macy and Stephen Schachter at the newly-formed Practical Aesthetics Workshop (PAW), which became Atlantic Theater Company.
In 1991 Wayne was cast in the world premiere of Ancient Boys by playwright Jean-Claude van Itallie at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. It was there that Wayne met internationally-acclaimed (six-time OBIE Award winning) director Joseph Chaikin, and began a decade long collaboration. From 1993 until his death in 2003, Wayne acted in six productions and workshops directed by Chaikin, including a 10-year collaborative project about disability. Wayne also co-taught a series of acting and directing workshops with Mr. Chaikin from 1997 until 2002.
Wayne continues to pursue directing opportunities alongside his acting. His earliest directing experience came while still a student at NYU, where he directed Heat by William Hauptman. In 2005 Wayne directed the world premiere of Trailerville by novelist John Dufresne at the Blue Heron Theatre in NYC, a project that began with a fan letter from Wayne to Mr. Dufresne in 2003. Other directing projects include Blue Notes by Sam Henry Kass (NADA), auto-da-fe by Tennessee Williams featuring Marylouise Burke (Main Street Arts Center, Nyack), and the world premiere of Uncle by Dean Gray (Blue Heron Theatre). In 2008 Wayne attended the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and was accepted into the Directing program at Brooklyn College, graduating with an MFA in 2010.
In 2012, while directing the world premiere of Obama 44 by Mario Fratti for La MaMa's 50 Anniversary Season, Wayne formed Voyage Theater Company as an artistic home from which to produce plays from around the world.
Wayne is an avid SCUBA diver and spends as much time under water as possible.
