Charles Julius, longtime scenic designer, technical director and stage manager at Evansville Civic Theatre, died Tuesday.
Those who knew him said he will be remembered as a teacher, mentor, friend and sometime therapist to many young and not-so-young area theater lovers.
Julius’ love of theater began during his youth when he had a run-in with police and was ordered to perform community service, which he completed as a stagehand at the local community theater where he grew up in Enid, Oklahoma.
He never looked back.
![Charles Julius](https://i0.wp.com/www.courierpress.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/07/05/PEVC/74307781007-charles-julius.jpg?w=749&ssl=1)
Julius designed and built sets for over 130 productions during his tenure at Civic (1990-1993 and again from 1999 until his retirement in 2020).
“He was an artist. He was a magician,” said veteran Civic Theatre actor Paul Bornik. “He understood the script and the actors and the space to create another world. He understood the actor’s point of view, he listened to us, he understood what we needed, and he made us look good.”
“It was not uncommon for the audience to erupt in applause as the show opened to the audience and the stage lights came up,” Bohnik said.
Ironically, Julius suffered from stage fright. Director Lynn Kincaid remembered seeing three men playing roles yelling at the wife onstage from behind the curtain. She asked Julius to play one of the husbands, with three lines. Julius reluctantly agreed, but at the last moment another, more experienced actor was substituted.
Julius had told People that after decades of acting, he had finally landed an acting role, only to be “replaced before opening night.”
Julius was born in Okeene, Oklahoma and spent his childhood in Enid. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Oklahoma Humanities College in Chickasha and his Master of Arts in Theatre Technology from Emporia State University in Kansas.
Julius worked for several years as Technical Director at Theatre Tulsa in Oklahoma where he was responsible for set design, lighting and sound for many dramatic productions and major musicals, and he has also served as set designer and technical director for other area theatre companies including the American Indian Theatre Company and Claremore Community Theatre.
He also worked briefly as a set designer at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
He moved to Evansville to live with his wife, Vicki, and her family in 1990. He joined the Civic Theatre in the fall of that year.
“We needed somebody,” Civic Theatre Director Dick Embers said, “and I hired him on the spot.”
In memory of Julius, a “Theatre Memorial Service” will be held on July 10th from 4pm to 10pm at Germania Maennerchor, 916 N. Fulton Ave. Friends and patrons of the Civic Theatre are welcome to attend.