Christopher J. Murphy

CHRISTOPHER J. MURPHY got his first taste of theatre when he saw a production of A Christmas Carol in elementary school. Awed and captivated by the stage magic, he’s spent his entire professional life trying to recreate that feeling in other audiences.

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Murphy began his long association with Youtheatre as an actor, then as a teacher and guest director before joining the organization full-time in 2016. In his current role as Artistic Director, he directs, teaches and oversees Youtheatre’s diverse programming of theatre arts.

Before coming to Youtheatre, Murphy spent twenty-two years as the Theatre Director at his alma mater, Blackhawk Middle School, from 1993-2015. In addition, Murphy has been a Master Teacher with F.A.M.E. (Foundation for Art and Music in Education) for fifteen years, taught FWCS adult acting classes, and traveled the United States teaching acting and musical theatre at PBS host Mark Kistler’s fine arts camps.

As an award-winning actor and director, Murphy’s work is regularly seen on stages throughout northeast Indiana, including the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre, First Presbyterian Theater, and Arena Dinner Theatre. In addition, he has worked extensively in the orchestral world, producing, writing, directing, and often hosting shows for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s Masterworks, Family, and Pops series. In 2015, he collaborated with composer Adrian Mann on “The Journey of Johnny Tincap,” a symphonic telling of the story of Johnny (Appleseed) Chapman, for which he wrote the narration. His adaptations and original narrative scripts for classic orchestral works have been produced from Norfolk, Virginia to San Diego, California.

Murphy is a proud resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he lives with the finest terrier known to man, Herbert Murphy. He is excited to share Youtheatre’s mission with the young artists of our community.