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LETTERS
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Alan Rector
Technical Director

Long time fans of Letters from the Front will recognize Alan's face as that of the character of Mark, Katharine's son who is deployed to Saudi Arabia in the Desert Storm edition of the play. 

"I got drafted into service," Alan says.   "When Dad (Playwright Robert Rector) was first putting the show together, he wanted to show images of Mark from the time he was born up until he is in uniform.  Since I was the same age as Mark, Dad put me in uniforms for the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force and took pictures of me against a blue sky.  Then he pulled out family album pictures of me going back to when I was a baby.   He even took a picture of me with Della Cole (who originated the role of Katharine Hartgrove) to tie it all together.  During the play, Della would flip through a scrapbook and behind her on the screen would be these pictures of me -- traveling down memory lane.  What was really weird was when I'd be at the show and somebody would come up to me afterwards and say: I'm so glad you made it back okay."

Before joining the family business starting with the 2000 World Tour, Alan had been everything from a short-order cook at Waffle House, to a commercial air conditioning installer, to a pest exterminator.   He had toyed with the idea of getting involved in theatre, but it wasn't until he saw the Rector-Roberts troupe fly off to the South Seas for the 1999 Pac-Rim tour that the bug bit him.  Calling on skills he had learned while taking a college course in Music Production, Alan spent nights and weekends for the next six months preparing for the 2000 tour.

Beginning at the entry level position of production assistant, Alan worked his way up to production gaffer and then to technical director.   Not only is he responsible for lighting the show and setting up the sound system, he also runs both the light board and sound board during the show, which means he is busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  The artistry with which he performs these tasks has won him high praise from audiences.

Alan makes his home in Alexandria, VA (when he's not on the road).