John Myles Elzey was born August 1, 1931. He began attending Weber College in 1949 and was elected student body president in 1953. He graduated in 1954 with an Associate of Arts degree and went on to the University of Utah to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 1958 he was asked to design a set for Amahl and the Night Visitor, and the following year he began teaching at Weber College in the Performing Arts Department. His first dramatic production was Oedipus Rex. During his tenure at Weber State John directed numerous dramatic productions which ranged from Greek tragedy to light-hearted plays for children. He soon realized that the community favorites were musical productions, so he established the Festival of American Theatre. Dr. Elzey went on to get a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Utah and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. He traveled with the State Department Tour in South America, successfully producing 33 showings of Annie Get Your Gun. He also traveled to Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan, to observe the Kabuki, Noh, and Kyogen theatre styles. Towards the end of his career his interest in Japanese and Hawaiian theatre increased. He taught at Weber State for 32 years, directing 54 productions during that time. He died of cancer on September 27, 1991.