May 2, 1941 -
RIC YOUNG
Writer, Director, costume designer, and Founder of several organizations.
Originally from Bremerton Washington (born May 2, 1941), his family moved to the Bay area so his father could work in the shipyards. [per a newspaper article in Multnomah Monthly Magazine in October 1983, Ric’s bio states he was born in Santa Rosa, CA.] In the ‘50s, Ric was suddenly sent out of state, to Oregon, when scandal erupted surrounding his activities with two suburban youths of church-going families. He found himself at Linfield College in McMinnville where he graduated in American Literature and theater. Scandal found him again at Linfield in 1959, where he publicly announced he was queer. In 1964, Ric moved to San Francisco to attend San Francisco School of Fashion Design where he learned to drape fabric, winning awards in design and tailoring. He moved to LA for a couple of years. He moved back to Portland in 1970 [Per an article in The Oregonian, March 28, 1970] to work with Tom and Anne Gerrity and the American Theater Company on their production of The Balcony. but was called back to the northwest to work at ATC. By 1983 he had designed 50 shows for Storefront and it wasn’t until “Jewell Box” that he accepted the title of playwright.
What the press said about Ric:
“Ric Young’s costumes are feats of technology coupled with fantasy that will have to be seen to be believed.” – The Downtowner
“…but the show’s knockout is Ric Young’s LEGEND OF BLUE WILLOW. It is so visually enthralling that the entire audience was positively floored by it.” – One Dollar Magazine
“Ric Young can create a sense of spectacle under any circumstances.” – Oregon Magazine
“Ric Young is not your average fellow next door who commits himself to conformity and bubbles over with American patriotism. He is a unique young man who happens to have the guts to say and do what he believes in and has fun doing it.” – The Entertainer
“Ric Young is a sensualist and his stories are in immediate sight and sound. What Young’s fans respond to is his sense of the visual moment, his three-dimensional feasts for the eye.” – The Oregonian
“Ric Young’s RASHOMON is an uncommonly beautiful production.” – The Oregonian [this show was done at New Rose – Ric was the costume designer]
“Ric Young has earned a reputation for brilliant productions that often challenge conventional expectations of what theatre should be.” – Oregon Arts Magazine
“…then there are the wonderful Ric Young extravagances…Young is the only person in Portland theatre who can create real visual and dramatic excitement with costume…” – The Downtowner
San Francisco School of Fashion Design
Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon BA
GENERAL RESUME
1987 Designed for Mariko Dance Theatre, Kyoto, Japan
1987 Study trip to Japan – Traditional Japanese Theatre
1986 President – Board of Directors – 10 Years – Storefront Theatre
1985 Artistic Director – Storefront Theatre
1985 Oregon Public Broadcasting – Best Director – RASHOMON
1985 Willie Award – Best Costumes – RASHOMON
1985 Greasepaint Award – Oregonian – Best Director – ART OF DINING
1984 Gallery Show – Ric Young’s Women – Hoffman Gallery
1984 Greasepaint Award – Oregonian – Best Original Play – ICON
1983 Designed for Theatre Am Turm, Frankfort, Germany
1983 Cascade Voice – Newsmakers Award
1983 Jane Chambers – Billy Blackwell Award – QUARTERS
1983 Willie Award – JEWEL BOX
1982 Skoal International Film Festival Award for outstanding contribution to the arts
1980 Worked with Ursula K. LeGuin on the original production, of OMALAS
1980 Oregon Arts Commission Artist Fellowship – Recipient
1979 Zell Award for best original play – CAMILLE
1977 National Endowment for the Arts Project Grant -- Co-Recipient
1971-73 Costume Designer, Portland Civic Theatre; and designer, writer, director, PCT’s Children’s Theatre
1970 Co-founder, designer, choreographer, writer, director. – Storefront Actors Theatre, Portland, Oregon.
1969-71 Costume designer, American Theatre Company, Portland State University
1968-69 Sportswear designer (own line), Romay of California, San Francisco
1968 Sportswear designer, Alvin Duskin, San Francisco
1968 Designer/Coordinator, “Fashion Builders,” Portland Art Museum
1967-68 Clothes/jewelry designer, #6 Morgan’s Alley and The Cuckoo’s Nest, Portland boutiques
1965-67 Clothes designer, San Francisco boutiques
1965 Award for Best Designer and Best Tailor, San Francisco School of Fashion Design
1963-64 Co-founder of the Portland Dance Company
TEACHING
1987 Costume Design – Oregon Art Institute
1984 Costume Design – Oregon School of Arts and Crafts
1974-78 Private classes in costume design, Portland
1973-74 Co-founder and teacher, Stage Coaching School
1973 Pattern making, School of Arts and Crafts, Portland
1971 Theatre – Portland Civic Theatre School
1969-71 Costume Design, Portland State University
COSTUME DESIGN
1986 CHILD BYRON, American Repertory Theatre
1985 RASHOMON, New Rose Theatre
1985 THE UNSEEN HAND, Storefront Theatre
1984 ANGRY HOUSEWIVES, Storefront Theatre
1984 CABARET, Portland Civic Theatre
1983 STREAMERS, Storefront Theatre
1983 REDEMPTION OF THE REDEEMER, Theatre Am Turm, Frankfurt
1982 QUARTERS, Storefront Theatre
1982 BABES ON BURNSIDE, Storefront Theatre
1981 NIGHT DREAMS, Storefront Theatre
1981 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Storefront Theatre
1980 OMELAS, Portland Civic Theatre
1980 A STOREFRONT BURLESQUE, Storefront Theatre
1979 CAMILLE, Portland Civic Theatre
1978 MINDS IN THE GUTTER, Storefront Theatre
1978 SQUIRRELS, Storefront Theatre
1978 BARNSTABLE, Storefront Theatre
1978 ANGEL CITY, Storefront Theatre
1978 TWELFTH NIGHT, Portland Civic Theatre
1977 REVIEW! REVUE!, Storefront Theatre
1977 EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON, Children’s Theatre in the Schools, Storefront
1977 LION IN WINTER, The Production Company, Portland
1977 PILK’S MADHOUSE, Storefront Theatre
1975 Comedia Theatre Company, Portland, Oregon
1975 Television commercials, Pioneer Savings and Loan and Blue Bell Potato Chips
1974 HOTEL FREE EXCHANGE, Storefront Theatre
1974 GALILEO, The Production Company
1973 WATERLILLIES, Storefront Theatre
1973 UNDER MILKWOOD, Storefront Theatre
1973 BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR, Portland Civic Theatre
1972 SWEENEY TODD, Storefront Theatre
1972 STOREFRONT CIRCUS, Storefront Theatre
1972 PLAZA SUITE, Portland Civic Theatre
1972 LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATES, Portland Civic Theatre
1971 RASHOMON, Portland Civic Theatre
1971 WEST SIDE STORY, Portland Civic Theatre
1971 THREE PENNY OPERA, American Theatre Company, Portland
1970 NEXT, American Theatre Company, Portland
1970 LYSISTRATA, Storefront Theatre
1970 THE BALCONY, American Theatre Company, Portland
1969 Emery Hermans Dance Theatre, Portland State University
ORIGINAL THEATRE PRODUCTIONS
(Writer, Designer, Choreographer, Director)
1990 Theatre of Horror, Storefront 1983 ICON, Storefront Theatre
1982 QUARTERS, Storefront Theatre
1982 BABES ON BURNSIDE, Storefront Theatre
1981 NIGHT DREAMS, Storefront Theatre
1981 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Storefront Theatre
1980 OMELAS, Portland Civic Theatre
1979 CAMILLE, Portland Civic Theatre
1978 TOLERANCE, Storefront Theatre
1977 JEWEL BOX (third production in trilogy), Storefront Theatre
1973 CINDERELLA, Children’s Theatre, Portland Civic Theatre
1973 EMPEROR AND THE NIGHTINGALE, Children’s Theatre, Portland Civic Theatre
1973 TALES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS, Children’s Theatre, Portland Civic Theatre
ORIGINAL THEATRE PRODUCTIONS
(Designer, Choreographer, Director)
1976 MYTHS (second production in the trilogy), Storefront Theatre
1975 DREAMS (first production in the trilogy), Storefront Theatre
1975 VAUDEVILLE II, Storefront Theatre
1974 VAUDEVILLE I, Storefront Theatre
1972 UNICORN, Storefront at Portland Civic Theatre
1971 SALOME, Storefront Theatre
Ric won a Willie/Drammy Award in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement
VIDEOS OF RIC AND/OR OF HIS WORK [videos are from William Reinhardt/posted on YouTube].
STOREFRONT THEATER 'Ric Young Goes Platinum' https://youtu.be/-xZ-NmuwSQ0
Ric Young's 'ICON' Rehearsals (part 2) Storefront Theater 1983 https://youtu.be/UHmgMw703gI?si=wZh15efARyqp3oJw
STOREFRONT THEATER - Ric Young's 'ICON' (auditions for the https://youtu.be/ChuJosRB01A?si=zimvs_U79QaDgL6F
STOREFRONT THEATER - Marilyn Dies ‘ICON’ https://youtu.be/YiDgE5Mfxb8?si=9aS4XazKum5uYPt4
STOREFRONT THEATER "Quarters" intro film to the play by Ric Young. https://youtu.be/0pK8_-clAfg?si=hrD0MZr9F7VJ71OC Per William Reinhardt: Ric Young and I created 5 short films to be interspersed with the live action on stage for his bold, original play about the gay cruising life. We used this film to introduce the main character (Jerry West) on the hunt at the popular clubs. Pushing the boundaries of good taste the films presented the fantasy life of the protagonist. Using nudity and sex, we rattled the morals of many conservative theater patrons. With surround sound, video and film, Storefront was ahead of it time presenting multi-media on a bohemian budget. Portland, Oregon 1981.
