FIYou: Michael Yawney

Name: Michael Yawney

Hometown: Bethlehem, Pa.

Job Title/Department: Assistant Professor, Theatre Department.

Campus: Modesto A. Maidique Campus

In a nutshell: I teach playwriting, directing and theater history. In addition, I direct theater productions at FIU such as The Ruby Sunrise, which opens on Jan. 20. I also oversee a yearly festival of new plays and advise students on their theses and performance projects.

Number of years at FIU: 4

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Nothing is ever the same. Every student brings such a unique perspective to his or her work that I can never teach anything in the same way twice. When I am working on a production like The Ruby Sunrise, the students always make me see the play in a different way than I did when I sat at home reading it.

What do you think students and your fellow faculty/staff should know about your department?

I would like everyone to know the effort that goes into the work of the Theatre Department. Faculty and students put in long hours days, nights and weekends. Acting scenes and design presentations for class are hugely labor-intensive. Tech rehearsals for productions are 12-hour days on Saturday and Sunday. The end result should look effortless, but in reality it is effortful.

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?

The Black Box Theater in the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. It can transform into anything. It is the closest thing FIU has to a holodeck.

What is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU?

We are close by. There is an urban myth that FIU is located somewhere a couple hundred miles west of the Everglades. I want to quash that myth once and for all. So often, when I tell people about a play, concert or exhibit at FIU they claim we are too far out in the middle of nowhere for them to come. But then when they do come they get excited by how easy it is to get here.

How is FIU “Worlds Ahead”?

Other schools try to be “inclusive” and “diverse.” FIU is the definition of both those words.

Family snapshot:

My family consists of me, my three sisters and about a dozen nephews and nieces.

Word that best describes you: Sesquipedalian.

First paying job: Handing out flyers for a skin care salon. I got $5 an hour! For some reason there were a lot of celebrities on the corner where I worked. Lillian Hellman and Farrah Fawcett both rejected my flyers.

Favorite TV show: It’s a toss up between The Wire and The Nanny.

What is playing on your iPod?

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Love, Brooklyn Fundffuck Orkestra, Pomplamoose, Gang of Four.

Your proudest accomplishment:

It’s always the latest one.

What do you do when you are not working at FIU?

I spend a lot of time cleaning up after my cats. That amounts to a hobby.