Copeland Woodruff, Opera Stage Director for the University of Memphis is also guest faculty at The Juilliard School of Music teaching acting classes and private coachings to the Master's students. Over the course of his career, Woodruff has directed more than 75 productions of operas, plays, musicals and scenes programs. He has been on the directing staffs of the New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival (NJ), and Opera North (Philadelphia and New Hampshire) and on the faculties of Oberlin Conservatory, Academy of Vocal Arts and Temple University, where he taught the graduate and undergraduate opera workshops and directed main stage productions, including L'Egisto, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Il campanello and Les malheurs d'Orphée.

He began his career as a vocalist and instrumentalist and, upon his return from teaching and singing in Germany and Switzerland, he concentrated his talents on becoming a stage director. Mr. Woodruff has worked with such directors as Francesca Zambello, Anne Bogart, Graham Vick, Ken Cazan, Mark Lamos, Lou Galterio, and Jay Lesenger. He is sought after as a teacher of the singing actor, and has been the resident director and acting coach for the Harrower Opera Workshop at Georgia State University for the past eleven years. Upcoming productions include Copland's The Tender Land for The Juilliard School, the American premiere of 3 x 3 = ∞ (Dreimaldrei gleich unendlich) for Juventas (Boston) and the premiere of his operatic collage Lady M in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Mr. Woodruff has won two First Place awards for Best Opera Production in the National Opera Association (NOA) competition for his productions of Hansel and Gretel (University of Memphis, 2008-09) and Les contes d'Hoffmann (Temple University, 2006-07). He will give a presentation at the NOA/NATS national convention in January on the post-modern acting technique: Viewpoints.

Mr. Woodruff holds a Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Science in Opera Stage Direction from Indiana University. He is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Actors' Equity Association (AEA).