William Virchis: Actor, Director, and Educator

William “Bill” Alejandro Virchis has had an impact throughout the local arts community for decades.
Virchis is the CEO of Virco Enterprises and Producing Artistic Director of Teatro Mascara Magica. As an integral member of San Diego’s performing arts education for more than 30 years, Virchis has worked as director of visual and performing arts at the Sweetwater Union High School District, where he also taught and directed for the CTE-ROP theatre program, and has been an instructor and director in the Southwestern College Theatre Department.
“I don’t tell this story very often, but I surprised my mother when I was born because my feet were practically backwards. My mother put me in a hospital until I was around five-years old,” said the well known educator and artistic director to La Prensa San Diego. “I was named after my doctor, whose name was Guillermo Alejandro Simbron; I was his protégé, he wanted me to walk and I had about 72 operations on each foot. That was my childhood.”
After a miraculous recovery, Virchis, who was born in Mexico City, moved with his family to the United States because his father got a new post at an airline company.  Virchis settled in Chula Vista along his brother, sister, and parents.
“At first, it was a shock; it was weird, school was harder in Mexico,” Virchis said. “I didn’t speak any English, but I learned the language watching TV.”
Virchis attended Chula Vista High School. He later studied at  Southwestern College and then San Diego State University, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and received the Sibyl Eliza Jones Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in Drama.
“I imitated people as a kid, that’s where my love of theatre came from,” Virchis shared. “I also remember that my mother could make people cry with her poetry which showed me the power of literature and drama so I started imitating people; I even won a contest at Fiesta de la Luna doing Nat King Cole, Jerry Lewis, and more.  They were my voices.”
<a href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Mascara2.jpg"><… loading="lazy" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Mascara2-255x30…; alt="" width="255" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-23265" srcset="https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Mascara… 255w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Mascara… 288w" sizes="(max-width: 255px) 100vw, 255px"></a>Virchis is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of Teatro Meta at the Old Globe Theatre, where he directed the theatre’s first educational tour.  Virchis is also a co-founder and artistic director of Teatro Mascara Magica, which has been associated with San Diego Repertory Theatre Company – where Virchis has also directed – and the Old Globe Theatre Company for over 20 years.
As a director, Virchis has directed on both sides of the border, working in many other well-known theatres across the Southwest, Mexico, and Canada, including more than 30 world premiere college plays.
As President and CEO of Virco Enterprises, a production coordinating company, he has helped to produce the International Mariachi Festival for over 20 years and has been instrumental in the coordination of numerous civic and state events for the San Diego community.
Virchis has collected awards and accolades throughout his career as an actor, director and educator. As an actor he has received the Atlas Award for his portrayal of Pancho in “The Night of the Iguana” at the Old Globe Theatre.
Virchis was also honored for his professional leadership at Southwestern College from the Governing Board and Faculty and was recognized as Theatre Educator of the Year by the Southern California Theatre Association and received the Arts District Administrator of the Year from the California Music Education Association Southern Border Section.
He has been inducted in numerous Halls of Fame, including the Who’s Who Theatre Educator Hall of Fame and the San Diego Educational Theatre Association’s Hall of Fame.
Virchis was selected to be the first High School Honor Theatre Director in 2009 for the San Diego Unified School District and also directed for Fiesta de Reyes in the Old Town Historical Park during their Spring Nights series. 
He has worked with Tri-Star, Walt Disney, and Warner Brothers on films and on musical scores for records, plays, television, commercials, theatre, and radio. A few career highlights include staging the reenactment of the landing of Cabrillo under the Department of the Interior, directing the national tour of the world premiere musical “Selena Forever”, and the musical “Let the Eagle Fly: The Cesar Chavez Story”, a work he personally holds in very high regard.
In 2012, the Sweetwater Union High School District announced that the Visual and Performing Arts Department would be known as the William Virchis Visual and Performing Arts Department.
William’s volunteer work and community service have been widely recognized with a Citizen of the Month Congressional Award, and was highly honored with George W. Bush’s Presidential Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Numerous awards and commendations have come from local and regional organizations throughout the years for his commitment to education, the arts, and the diverse communities in which he has lived and worked in.
Besides his work in the arts, Virchis has also practiced and coached the sport of wrestling. One of his most well known students is  Mario Lopez, who he recently visited in Hollywood with a group of his drama students.
“These phases going from wrestling coach, to teacher, to producer, to director have all been part of my life and I stand in the shoulders of a lot people,” Virchis said.
A father of two and grandfather of one, Virchis continues to inspire family, friends and audiences with his boundless energy and infectious passion for his work.