One on One with Markus - Thorneloe director Ian Maclennan

Even from an early age, Ian Maclennan knew he would one day be directing on stage.

The Thorneloe University instructor said he was six years old directing plays in his parents' basement featuring his brothers and sisters.

"Dad put up a curtain that could be drawn, so we could have a little stage, and open and close the curtain," Mclennan said.

Maclennan, who has been a mainstay at Thorneloe for more than 20 years, had a chance to talk with CBC's Morning North about what led him to Sudbury.

His first impressions upon landing in the Nickel City, he recalls, weren't terribly flattering.

"It was kind of like it is now. March, with snow on the ground, kind of dull," Maclennan said. "I knew the city's reputation, as Sudbury being a moonscape."

"And when I came here there was no theatre," he said. "It was located in portables."

That was a blow for the self-described historian, who cut his teeth at St. Andrew's University in Scotland.

"Maybe I'm just an old soul," he said. "I just like walking in a building, and you're walking in footsteps of someone 300, 400 years ago."

At St. Andrew's, he began his career under director Malcolm Edward.

"We used to rehearse in a church hall, and the first time we moved into the theatre, the first time we went up, Malcolm went in, and turned on all the stage lights," Maclennan said.

"I still remember the second that hot light hit my face," he said. "I thought this is it, this is what I want. I don't want to be doing a PhD in religious studies. This is what I want."

'Everyone has a kernel of creativity'

But his audition for A Midsummer Night's Dream wasn't successful. Edward said because of his accent, he wouldn't be cast in any roles.

Instead, Maclennan asked to stay on board as an assistant director, to which Edward agreed.

Maclennan said he fell in love with the director's role, which allowed him to express his creativity, something he said calls on everyone to explore.

"I think everyone has a kernel of creativity," he said. "I express it through music and theatre. For some people, it can be sports, for some, writing."

"For some, it's very practical, like building, cooking, sewing. I think everybody has the kernel, hopefully you can find what yours is and let it go."