SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — Our 9NEWS man in the mountains is a man of many talents. He shoots, writes and edits his own news reports. He sets up his live shots and he manages to make almost every report creative and fun.
When Matt Renoux isn’t making great TV, he’s probably in a theater. He did a few shows in high school and minored in theater in college. Now, he’s sharing his skills as a director.
Recently, he took on a new challenge by directing. Renoux was the “man in charge” of the performance, “A-Haunting We Will Go,” at Summit High School.
“If I could direct musicals and make good money at it, it would be a lot of fun. Maybe that’s my retirement plan. I love directing," Renoux said.
Life is a performance for the mountain newsroom reporter. "It's an ascot, but I don’t know how to tie an ascot," Renoux said.
He never misses a beat to entertain and the role he plays depends on the day and the stage.
"I am the mountain newsroom reporter for 9NEWS. Here, I’m the director," he said.
At Summit High, he's known as Director Matt.
"He's funny, charismatic, knows what to do very well in the theater. Very funny, very interesting sense of humor," said Henry, a theater student.
"They're smarter than me, they're more talented than me and they're more funnier than me," Renoux said.
"He is one of our directors alongside Kelly and he basically, they just kinda put the show into real life," another kid actor on set said.
Director Kelly makes the stage magic happen. She manages the actors – and her husband, Matt.
"Every day, but that's what Matt does," Kelly said. "We had a conversation about that early on, 'Matt you're being... distracting,' Yeah, that's what he does."
Don't let him fool you, Renoux knows his audience. And he also knows what they don't know.
"I'm the newsman. So the first couple of rehearsals most of the actors couldn't even speak because they were in awe," said Renoux as he laughed out loud. "No, I don't think any of them know who I am."
"From what I understand, he's a television reporter, and a pretty darn good one, as I understand it," Henry said.
"He's definitely a very fun guy on the cast. Always making us laugh, has lots of dad jokes. Very definitely a news reporter," another student performer said.
He's a news guy who sometimes plays director to a cast of wacky characters.
"My character is Norma Corwin who is the jet set Hollywood producer and also lead in the show," another theater student said.
"My role is Johnny Bates. I'm a kidnapper fellow," Henry said.
"I play a psychotic nurse who's chasing after her patient," another student performer said.
Among them is one child actress who has given him the role of a lifetime.
"My dad definitely helps with more direct conversations with people and my mom helps me more on the stage side. They both help me with my stage presence and confidence," said Sonnett, Matt and Kelly's daughter who's acting in the production.
Dad, husband, reporter, director – the stage is always calling.
"I love directing, honestly. It's weird because people find it hard to find one thing they enjoy. So my job as a journalist is already extremely satisfying and I wouldn't want to do anything else," Renoux said. "But if I was going to do something else, directing would be it."
And that is what some might call the script behind the script.