Tyrus Lemerande

Artistic Director

Born and raised in San José, California, Ty graduated from Bellarmine College Prep in 1988 and enlisted in the Navy. Two years later he accepted an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he majored in English, toured with the Men’s Glee Club and served as Masquerader’s President. Ty graduated with merit in 1994 and worked for five years as a Public Affairs Officer in Washington, D.C., where his duties included serving as Print Media Coordinator for the Navy’s flagship publication All Hands Magazine.

After leaving active duty in 1999, Ty studied acting at Penn State University, where he graduated with an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts in August 2002. While at Penn State, Ty also taught acting, guest lectured on Henry V at his alma mater in Annapolis, directed a production of The Winter’s Tale and certified as an actor/combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. After graduation, Ty traveled the country with Shenandoah Shakespeare’s Brave New World Tour, performing the title role in Coriolanus, Ferdinand in The Tempest and Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew. He also met and fell in love with the woman who would become his partner “forever and always.”

Ty is a commander in the Naval Reserve and is currently assigned to the Office of the Chief of Information at the Pentagon in Washington DC. He was recently recalled to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and served for seven months at International Security and Assistance Force Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

He is married to Amy McLaughlin and the couple has two children, Declan Thomas and Bridget Katherine.