Page 52 - SOUTHERN OREGON MAGAZINE FALL 2019

neck of the woods | theatre

State University, he earned a degree in Since returning, Young and Laube have become
theater in 1989. While in college, Young regulars, part of the community. "Part of this is
was designated a "special performer" the connective quality. I get to know audience
and given roles in King John and Henry members. They become our friends. They see
VIII on a paid-per-show basis. "But," he us downtown buying tomatoes at the co-op.
explains, "I was in the door. It was my first This is happening," he says of life in the Rogue
professional job." Valley, "and I'm a part of it."

After graduating from SOSU, he was off to Young is part of the community, and has
the American Repertory Theater Institute at played many parts in the Elizabethan and
Harvard University, where he added "extra adjacent Thomas and Bowmer theaters. His
polish" by being in 22 shows over a two- favorites include On the Razzle, Cyrano, Cat
year period. "I had in mind I wanted to be on a Hot Tin Roof, Language Archive and, of
a Shakespearean actor and do a play in every course, Shakespeare plays such as Much Ado
state. That was my romantic notion." About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Winter's Tale
and 2019's As You Like It, where he was a very
While he didn't achieve that goal, Young spent comic, very touching Touchstone. Or, as he
a dozen years in New York City, and recalls tells, "It was the kind of play I could be loose
"eating humble pie" the first two years. in—I also follow impulses."
He worked at theaters around the country,
his travels taking him to Utah, Kentucky, Young has frequently been cast in comic roles,
Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin and other states something he enjoys. "My career revealed to
and landed roles in television and movies. me that I'm more of a character actor. Clowns,
they have something to say. I like the classics
It was at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in and the heightened plays. Richard II is still one
1995 that he met an actress, Miriam Laube. of my favorite plays. Shakespeare manipulates
They married a year later, and Laube was the audience—the beauty of his language, his
offered roles at the Festival in Ashland. They storytelling. He gives us the words of joy, for
moved to Ashland, with Young also getting grief, for emotional things in our life."
roles. When they weren't asked back for 1997,
the couple returned to their Queens apartment In 2020, Young will return for his 21st season
in New York. In 2005, OSF again recruited with roles in a world premiere of The Copper
Laube, and both had contracts in 2006. Children and Bernhardt/Hamlet, the latter
described by the New York Times as "breakneck,
"So I've been coming to this valley all my backstage comedy."
life, I came back having cut the umbilical
cord," Young says, reflecting on his Ashland He's excited about ongoing changes with
ties while relaxing in his Elizabethan Theatre the Festival. Bill Rauch, the Festival's artistic
seat. "Being away, having to do other jobs and director has moved on, and Natika Garrett,
eventually getting a foothold. I don't think I who directed How to Catch Creation in 2019, is
would be a professional actor if I hadn't been taking charge for the upcoming season. What
asked back here," he adds, explaining he won't change is his affection for Ashland, the
had been exploring other, more stable jobs. Festival, the Elizabethan Theatre.
When they lived in New York, he and Laube
were apart while traveling to distant theaters. "I like doing one show a year here," he says
"Most places you go for six or eight weeks. of performing in the Elizabethan Theatre, the
We were getting tired of being apart, so the stage where he'll perform in Bernhardt/Hamlet,
opportunity of being in a community together which opens in June.
was something we just couldn't pass up. I
wanted to come back here because I knew "This place, this theater in particular, really
what it was, what Ashland is." Returning to shaped my aesthetic. It shaped my life.
Ashland wasn't something he'd anticipated
when he was younger. "When I was a kid I This theater, right here," Young says, "is a
couldn't wait to get out of here, actually," he part of me."
says, laughing.

50 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | fall 2019