Meet Christopher Henry Young | Broadway Actor & Arts Educator/Performance Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christopher Henry Young and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher Henry, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Overall, taking risks has gotten a bad rep as a result of how often we hear about the negative impacts of risks taking. I’ve found a more productive way to view risk-taking. Part one has been getting to understand me professionally. Figuring out what I need to make the moves I’d like to make in my career. Part two has been creating a structure for coping with whatever the outcomes of my risk-taking may be. It becomes less frightening to take risks when I know I have a way to cope with whatever the outcomes are. As a professional actor, I must take risks often, be they onstage as a dive into the human psyche, showing vulnerability usually reserved for my trusted companions to audiences of 1000+ people, or whether it’s deciding which jobs to accept or how to establish boundaries in theatrical spaces. Risk-taking, I believe, is a necessity for progress, and yet, so often, we try to avoid risk-taking due to our fears. Simply being afraid is rarely reason enough not to take most risks. So I try to deal with the fears and make an informed decision about managing the risks I take.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart is that I attempt to learn from every moment I’m on stage, even when I’m performing a show I’ve done many times before. I try to make sure I am stepping into the work with a new curiosity and with all the energy I have on that day, so the audience experiencing my performance is on a journey with me instead of me simply telling them a story I’ve already lived and decided how it goes. That is part of what has helped me stand out and secure work throughout my career. I am staying present and alive in my work and constantly being open to artistic conversation, and wanting to work on projects that support that goal. I like the world to know that art and emotional expression are essential for humanity. We all need and want to feel understood and seen, and art is a powerful way to connect each of our stories to one another.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would basically spend the long trip taking my friend on a tour of Denver’s Arts and Culinary scenes. Trying restaurants like Stoic & Genuine, Tavernetta, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Illegal Pete’s, and Sam’s No. 3. Then exploring Denver Performing Arts Complex for a show, Denver Museum of Contemporary Art for an exhibit, and Denver Botanic Gardens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out Mark Zortman and Byron Easley. These two men helped me find structure and define what artistry and work ethic looks and feels like to me. Mark was my high school Choir/Theater//Music director. His influences guided me through the journey of finding theater as a productive outlet for my emotions, and he helped me grow the talents I possessed and train them. Byron helped shift my perspective from focusing on proving naysayers wrong and superficial attention to concentrating on artistic purity and honest emotional expression. With the support of these two men, I found the artist I dreamed of being within myself and used that foundation to build a career I’m incredibly proud of.

Website: https://www.cyoungonstage.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyoungonstage/

Twitter: twitter.com/cyoungonstage

Image Credits
Image 1 – Ellis Dawson Image 2 – Mina Seville