Latrelle Bright

CHAMPAIGN - Latrelle Sharmaine Bright was born to Anita Johnson in Ocala, Fla., on Aug. 2, 1971. Concerned about her daughter's future prospects, Anita joined the military to ensure that she could properly provide for her little girl. For the next four years, Latrelle was left in the loving care of her grandparents, Aretha and Willie Houston, and her aunts and uncles – Sandra, Jo Ann, Ruth, Tommy and Leon. These were some of the happiest years of her life.

As soon as she was able, Anita returned and collected her daughter, bringing those idyllic years to an end. Latrelle now became a self-described "military brat," who had to adapt to the needs of her mother's service. It was a good life, but not nearly so easy, as Latrelle spent the next six years moving from one place to another: Denver, Framingham, Mass., North Brunswick, N.J., and Aurora, Colo. During this time, Latrelle learned to find her community and to cultivate new friendships wherever she happened to land. It was a lesson that would serve her well throughout her life.

Latrelle's first love was the theatre, which she discovered at a tender age during a Broadway production of "Annie." She honed her theatrical talents through voice and dance lessons, as well as through participating in multiple productions throughout high school.

Latrelle was the first in her family to attend and graduate college. Thanks to her enduring love of theatre, she never really considered any other - possibly more practical - course of study, enrolling first in the Boston Conservatory and then the American International University in San Diego before finally landing at Florida State in Tallahassee, where she graduated in 1993. Her final degree was in communications, due to complications in getting all of her previous theatrical credits accepted.

After graduation, Latrelle spent time in Atlanta and Hoboken, N.J., learning how to make a living and live life as a young adult in the U.S. She ended up in San Antonio, where she rekindled her love of theatre and discovered her passion for theatrical directing. Frustrated with the lack of opportunity for a new director with little experience, Latrelle decided to start her own theatrical company. She founded the Renaissance Guild - San Antonio's first Black Theatre Company - with her friends, Danielle King and Paul Riddle, in 2001. Over the next five years, she would produce, direct and act in dozens of performances throughout the San Antonio area.

In 2006, Latrelle returned to school, enrolling in the MFA program for theatre at the University of Memphis. There, she studied under Gloria Baxter and learned to refine her directorial voice. She graduated with an MFA in theatre in 2008. In 2009, Latrelle was hired by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the assistant program coordinator for Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre. In January 2010, she met her future husband, Rex Bennett, on a date in downtown Champaign, and realized that she might have room for a second love in her life.

Latrelle Bright and Rex Bennett were married on Sept. 28, 2012, at the University of Illinois Arboretum. Latrelle embarked upon a life of adventure with her new husband, traveling the world and exploring a wealth of both wilderness and culture. Latrelle also had a chance to experience a different kind of family, becoming stepmother to Rex's children, Maxwell and Yekaterina. At this point, Latrelle determined that she was done moving, and that Champaign-Urbana would be her long-term home.

Latrelle may have been married to Rex, but she never did forget her first love. As she put down roots in Champaign-Urbana, she also worked to establish relationships with existing theatrical communities and to expand them to include new or under-represented voices. Soon, she had directed shows at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Station Theatre and Parkland College - and was developing new works with members of the local community, such as the Water Project in 2017 with the Prairie Rivers Network, and Quantum Voyages, in 2018 with Smitha Vishveshwara and the University of Illinois Physics Department.

In 2020, Latrelle was hired by the University of Illinois as a teaching professor in the theatre department. In her time at the University, Latrelle worked to expand the available courses in the theatre studies program and was a tireless advocate for her students. She could frequently be found in the audience at readings, performances or other student showcase events. Latrelle also continued to expand and extend her collaboration with Smitha Vishveshwara and the physics department, through the curation of CASCaDe - an arts-science initiative between theatre, music and physics.

Latrelle had an outsized impact on the Champaign-Urbana theatrical communities, and nearly all who worked within those communities were touched by her efforts during her time here. That time was cut short in the summer of 2025, by the return of her previously treated breast cancer, which had metastasized into the bones of her spine.

Latrelle Bright passed away on the morning of Sept. 21, 2025, after a brief illness.

She is survived by her husband, Rex Bennett; her mother, Anita Johnson; and her stepchildren, Maxwell and Yekaterina.

Her Celebration of Life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the University of Illinois Arboretum, 1800 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana. A reception will follow in the lobby and Studio Theatre of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana. RSVP at tinyurl.com/Latrelle-Bright.