Westley Thornton

Born and raised in South Georgian farmland, Westley is the son of a preacher and school teacher. In his formative years he would often entertain his family at dinner time with comedic monologues and songs which he had memorized for his own enjoyment. His parents, realizing his inclinations sought the local theatre as a haven for their youngest son. At nine years Westley performed as narrator and Master of Ceremonies for the Tift Theatre Opening Gala. From there he would participate in various local productions winning acclaim and awards for his acting talent until his abrupt move to Los Angeles. At seventeen, just one year shy of completing high school, Westley stole his father's pick-up and loaded it with just enough soda to get him to California. In thirty-seven hours he was confronted by Los Angeles traffic. Five-weeks was enough to convince him to stay. He completed Meisner training at the Piero Dusa Acting Conservatory in Santa Monica. He has since privately studied with Douglas Matranga Formerly of the New York Film Academy. Westley beginning in Los Angeles was as Pale in Lanford Wilson's "Burn This" to which he received mixed reviews as a chain smoking, cocaine snorting restauranteur. He has since appeared as Ivan Ivanovich in Anton Checkhov's "the Proposal" where his talents for prat-fall were realized by Matranga who cast him in several other productions over the years. As Jerry in Albee's "The Zoo Story" Westley became entranced with the piece and has revisited the work several times over the years. As Roy in James McClure's "Lone Star" his portrayal of this Home town hunk come Vietnam Veteran Gained him status as "scary and loveable". His back stage work as Stage Manager has also gained him recognition having served as stage manager for CASA's annual Toys For Tots extravaganza, an elaborate musical production.