Photos and Story by Cole Wimberly
Kaskaskia College’s new Theater Director, Nathan Young, is working to rebuild the KC Theater Department. Young is also the Assistant Director of communication and theater and the Director of the Theater Department.
Young explains, “The ultimate goal is always to find a full job working in the field. I am an actor educator, so I am not only a professional actor and still do work, but I also always knew I wanted to be in education. Even though I am not from here, jobs in the performing arts from an education standpoint can be competitive. I just knew that wherever the first one that made sense, and was a good fit for all parties, I was willing to go where it needed to go and this is a great opportunity.”
With taking on his role as the Kaskaskia Theater Director, Young is in charge of overseeing and rebuilding the entire theater department. Young has put the Theater Department in a two-year cycle. This means they perform a classic play, a Shakespeare play, an American play, and a musical in the two years of students attending at Kaskaskia College. The exposure of these shows to students provides experience of each major style of theater. Young also works to create additional Articular Agreements with partner universities
“We are constantly working to improve our partnerships with four-year institutions in the state, and in other places, so the first major step was getting more articulation agreements. Our students can do their first two years here, and through a partner university, can go into a theater program that makes sense for them. When I started we only had one agreement, and since I’ve begun we already have two more. There are five more currently in the works that I hope to have resolved by the end of the year.”
Young treats the audition process as professionally as possible. With auditions being open to students, staff, and community members, Young plans to give students the most professional competitive audition experience. Young has already accomplished rebuilding various parts of the department.
Kaskaskia College first began the theatre program in 1990, but a degree in theatre was not possible until 2022.
“We are kind of rebuilding it from the ground up. The program itself is only in the third year now [Associate in Fine Arts] and so some of our curriculum is currently being redone. There are three courses that I have rebuilt myself to make them more professional. We are still in that growing period for sure, but we are slowly tweaking the program. We are Working on getting it to be as professional of a program as possible.”
Young has also recently completed his first performance, “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play”.
