Joe Cirafici holds a B.A. degree with a concentration in Theater Performance from the University of South Florida. He has worked in numerous theater companies around Chicagoland and has been featured in several independent and short films, as well as TV documentaries. His background in Shakespeare and Classical Theater have taught him to dig deeply into any text to bring out the richness of the characters and intention of playwright. Today, Joe is a Youth Pastor and Business Leader in his community, but his love for theater and teaching is as bright as ever. He was the lead director of Willy Wonka Jr for Aurora in fall of 2022 and is looking forward to becoming more involved with CYT in both directing and teaching capacities.