Spotlight: A.D. Gary Dean Hathaway

Before Gary Dean Hathaway became the Artistic Director for CYT Denver he had worked professionally in theater for 25 years. It was safe to say that no one encapsulated the amount of zeal and drive for theater than he did. Years of success in the business led to a dwindling of spirituality- he slowly became disillusioned, bitter, cynical and hopeless,

“It seemed that everyone was fueled by gossip, slander, and self indulgent egotism….(and those are nice things that I can mention). It got to the point where I no longer loved or had a passion for theater because it had come to represent everything that was wrong in my life. So, I rededicated my life to Christ, turned my back on and walked away from a 25-year career, and had no idea what I was going to do next. That’s when CYT came into my life,” said Hathaway.

CYT Denver is now a place where he can encourage and foster that love and passion for the arts, and at the same time, help to instill in the kids self worth. Hathaway knows first hand what it is like to see the ideal childhood, “drug through the mud and destroyed by others.”

His current passion involves creating a safe haven for CYT kids, where they can dream big and live without judgement.

“There are lots of theaters in town who have bigger budgets, bigger sets, bigger performance venues (not to mention bigger egos), but no one in town has a bigger heart or a greater love for what they are doing, who they’re doing it with and who they’re doing it for, than the kids and families of CYT. Those three things will always set you apart from the crowd. Love and enthusiasm are infectious, and those are things that we have been trying to build a foundation on.”