RADFORD – Wesley Young, Associate Professor of Theatre at Radford University, has kicked off a very successful directing career since joining the faculty 10 years ago. His 24 productions in this time include plays at RU, Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre and St. Croix Festival Theatre.

Young’s directing experience is a potpourri of genres spanning comedy, musical and serious drama. Examples of his work are Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Lion in Winter, The Diary of Anne Frank, Pippin, The Winter’s Tale, Some Enchanted Evening, Rounding Third, Spoon River Anthology and The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Moments after Radford’s spring commencement, Young left to direct A. R. Gurney’s comedy Sylvia at Kentucky Repertory Theatre. “Sylvia is a comedy about a couple of empty nesters who have downsized, and the wife is starting a long-delayed teaching career,” Young said. “The husband, meanwhile, disenchanted with his job and other concerns of middle-age, finds a stray dog in Central Park. He adopts the dog against his wife’s wishes, and the fun goes from there.”

In addition to directing Young has performed in close to 200 plays. Among the roles of which he is proudest are Algernon Moncrief in The Importance of Being Earnest, Prior Walter of Angels in America, King Lear’s Kent and Chicklet in Psycho Beach Party. Locally, he has been seen as The Narrator/Mysterious Man at Roanoke’s Mill Mountain Theatre in Into the Woods. Young admits that his favorite role is Oscar Wilde in the play Diversions and Delights. “Playing Oscar Wilde is very special to me. I relate to him in very personal ways that are difficult to explain,” he commented.

Enjoying almost every aspect of directing a play, including the research and collaboration with designers and actors, Young said, “I think the director is the ‘expert’ on the play for that particular production, but they still have to be flexible as the play and the artists reveal facets of the text the director might not have seen. I really enjoy what I refer to as the ‘free fall of creativity.’ To me, this means all on board have done their homework, but as we rehearse and meet, we discover things that help the play speak, evoking new and different reactions.”

The expertise and professionalism of the RU Theatre and Cinema faculty have had a significant impact on Young’s directing aesthetic. In fact, Young said he is fortunate to be able to work with such a faculty. “That group has contributed more than any other to my development as a director.”

Young jokes with his directing students, “When in doubt, make it pretty.” but he believes the bottom line is telling a story with “clarity, imagination and power. That can mean all kinds of things."

Young’s next production is slated to be the musical Baby as part of RU’s upcoming theatre season.