A 2005 Moniteau High School alumnus has been named executive director of the Academy Theater in Meadville.

Alan Stevens, the son of Dave and Letha Stevens of Harrisville, was named to the position at the 130-year-old theater in February after earning his master’s degree in the fine arts in writing for the screen and stage from Pittsburgh’s Point Park University earlier this year. Stevens graduated from Thiel College in Greenville in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies.

“For a while I worked in a costume shop,” said Stevens. “I opened a hair salon in Sharon in 2012. I was doing theater on the side.”

“Then I was involved in the Greenville Area Community Theater,” he said before he decided to get a postgraduate degree.

“I have always had a deep interest in theater, especially writing. Upon graduating from Thiel I set a goal for myself to obtain a master’s degree. I originally applied to an arts management program, but one day while I was surfing the Web I came across the M.F.A. in writing for the screen and stage at Point Park,” Stevens said.

“I started in 2014. I was accepted in the inaugural program. I did most of the program online with a few residences scattered in the summer,” he said.

After graduation he said a member of the board of the Academy Theatre contacted Stevens and asked him if he was interested in the executive director position.

The Academy Theatre was built in 1885 and operated as a popular opera house.

The theater at one time hosting vaudeville shows and the first “talkies” in town. From the 1950s up through the 1980s, the Academy Theatre was a movie house.

After the building was damaged in a fire in the 1980s, the Academy Theatre closed its doors.

But the Academy Theatre Foundation was formed to raise money for a restoration that saw the theater reopen in 1992.

“As executive director I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the theater,” Stevens said. “I do fundraising and write grants and help plan the season and am responsible for the marketing.”

The Academy’s run of “Mary Poppins” ended in April and Stevens deemed it very successful.

“The Music Man” is slated to be the next production with opening night set for Friday.

Stevens said he was bitten by the theater bug while in high school.

“I was one of the Lost Boys in a production of ‘Peter Pan,’” he said.

“I started a drama club in high school. I was in the band, the choir. I was an art kid,” Stevens said.

He credits Joann Duke, a retired teacher with inspiring him in the dramatic arts.

Duke, who retired in 2005, produced musicals at Moniteau High School for 10 years.

“I remember Mr. Stevens. He was one of those kids who are so excited about everything,” said Duke. “He had a good voice. In the smaller parts he could do two or three things.”

“The best way to describe him would be as a sponge,” Duke said. “He would take in everything about a musical, not just the acting but the staging. That’s kind of rare these days.”

“He impressed me by wanting to know everything. Apparently, he’s done us proud,” she said.

These days, Stevens hopes to bring more teaching and training to the Academy Theatre.

“There should be more training of students, as well as creating an opportunity for playwrights to workshop their plays before taking them out into the world,” Stevens said.

“I see myself at the Academy for a long time. It is a beautiful space in a very historic town, which are two things I love — history and theater. I want to incorporate more original works into our production season, allowing my classmates and fellow writers the chance to have their work put on a stage. In addition to this, I will be teaching a playwriting class for youths,” Stevens said.