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Hello and Welcome!
I feel it's very important for the services that I offer that you are able get to know a little bit about who I am, where I come from and why I am on this journey. But if you would like to skip the backstory and get right to the credentials, I take no offense, and you can find my bio along with all of my resumes at the bottom of this page. Thank you! |
Photo Credit: Holly Lynch
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My Story
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All throughout my childhood and young adolescence, I felt no self-worth or personal value with who I was. I was polite and well-mannered thanks to my upbringing, but I was an odd little guy. LOL! I was very goofy, hyperactive, with a stutter and a small speech impediment. This made me very uncomfortable with speaking and so I avoided talking around people as much as possible. This included when it came to expressing myself. I wasn't a fan of school and didn't really show any signs of strengths in the traditional world of academia, but I was fantastic at impressions in addition to being able to quote any film or tv scene word for word while being able to recall the music composition that accompanied it in great detail.
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Photo Credit: Holly Lynch
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But I never cited this as having any value to the world and I had no desire to become an actor or performer of any kind because of my stutter and speech impediment. I didn't have any interests at all in anything society had to offer. I just didn't fit in anywhere with anybody. So, I did my best to just keep my head down, stay in line with school and be quiet so that nobody would notice me. But then, as it so often does, fate intervened and my whole world changed.
I was a Freshman in High School in 1996 when I found my love for the theatre. Again, I had no desire to be on stage and the circumstances of how I ended up in my first show were truly serendipitous. Not only that, but I found my tribe amongst the creatives. A place where my individuality and weirdness were welcomed and celebrated. And that one experience was all it took. Although I still had no idea what trajectory I was on, I intuitively trusted the path that was unfolding before me with pure joy and I immersed myself in the craft all throughout high school. My personal confidence skyrocketed, and my grades improved, but one of the most important things that I noticed two years into my journey, was that whenever I stepped on to the stage, my stutter would disappear. I was blown away by this and couldn't believe that it took me 2 years to notice it. Not only that, but nobody else noticed it either! LOL! Or if they did, they certainly didn't say anything to me!
I felt like I had stumbled on to some sort of special magic that nobody else could see, and I thought to myself: "If practicing this craft has the power to do something like that for someone like me, what else could it do?"
With no desire to go to college, I graduated high school and continued to keep exploring the art form and it didn't take long before I landed my first professional acting gig in 2001. From there, the next 24 years were a series of exquisite adventures where I would expand from an actor and voice-over artist to a teacher, director/choreographer, producer and on the side consultant. I never dreamed those adventures possible for myself. My speech impediment and stutter had disappeared in those early years due to the focus of my personal studies and practices that I learned through acting for the stage. And I never forgot about that goofy, hyperactive, odd little kid who was terrified to be seen or heard by anyone. It was through these creative atmospheres that he was able to find his own voice, his individuality, his personal empowerment, authenticity and self-worth.
I had come to learn, through my own experience, the true power of creative self-expression. And I believe we as a society devastatingly underestimate the incredible value and benefits it has to offer when it is given a truly healthy atmosphere. A lot of that comes from the fact that we believe there is no value to studying this craft unless you are going to pursue it as a career. But that is simply not true. The practice of self-expression through acting, exercises so many qualities that can carry over into everyday life. Qualities like compassion, empathy, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communication, self-reflection, self-awareness, confidence, the list goes on and on! Everyone and anyone can do it because I believe it taps into the very core of what makes us human, and that is the inherit ability to create.
And this brings us to this present moment of my story. The next leg of my journey. To take all that I have learned and what I will continue to learn, and gift it to anyone who may be in need of it. To be in service to others by creating and holding a true, safe creative environment, where one can explore what makes them unique, find the power in their own voice and who they are as a person. To call forth that special magic that I stumbled upon all those years ago and share it with the world. And acting, in just my own opinion, is the most fun way to access that magic! Because when you remove the elements of competition and ego and create an artistic atmosphere not based on financial survival, but based on creative self-expression, the benefits are immeasurable for EVERYONE involved.
I was a Freshman in High School in 1996 when I found my love for the theatre. Again, I had no desire to be on stage and the circumstances of how I ended up in my first show were truly serendipitous. Not only that, but I found my tribe amongst the creatives. A place where my individuality and weirdness were welcomed and celebrated. And that one experience was all it took. Although I still had no idea what trajectory I was on, I intuitively trusted the path that was unfolding before me with pure joy and I immersed myself in the craft all throughout high school. My personal confidence skyrocketed, and my grades improved, but one of the most important things that I noticed two years into my journey, was that whenever I stepped on to the stage, my stutter would disappear. I was blown away by this and couldn't believe that it took me 2 years to notice it. Not only that, but nobody else noticed it either! LOL! Or if they did, they certainly didn't say anything to me!
I felt like I had stumbled on to some sort of special magic that nobody else could see, and I thought to myself: "If practicing this craft has the power to do something like that for someone like me, what else could it do?"
With no desire to go to college, I graduated high school and continued to keep exploring the art form and it didn't take long before I landed my first professional acting gig in 2001. From there, the next 24 years were a series of exquisite adventures where I would expand from an actor and voice-over artist to a teacher, director/choreographer, producer and on the side consultant. I never dreamed those adventures possible for myself. My speech impediment and stutter had disappeared in those early years due to the focus of my personal studies and practices that I learned through acting for the stage. And I never forgot about that goofy, hyperactive, odd little kid who was terrified to be seen or heard by anyone. It was through these creative atmospheres that he was able to find his own voice, his individuality, his personal empowerment, authenticity and self-worth.
I had come to learn, through my own experience, the true power of creative self-expression. And I believe we as a society devastatingly underestimate the incredible value and benefits it has to offer when it is given a truly healthy atmosphere. A lot of that comes from the fact that we believe there is no value to studying this craft unless you are going to pursue it as a career. But that is simply not true. The practice of self-expression through acting, exercises so many qualities that can carry over into everyday life. Qualities like compassion, empathy, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, communication, self-reflection, self-awareness, confidence, the list goes on and on! Everyone and anyone can do it because I believe it taps into the very core of what makes us human, and that is the inherit ability to create.
And this brings us to this present moment of my story. The next leg of my journey. To take all that I have learned and what I will continue to learn, and gift it to anyone who may be in need of it. To be in service to others by creating and holding a true, safe creative environment, where one can explore what makes them unique, find the power in their own voice and who they are as a person. To call forth that special magic that I stumbled upon all those years ago and share it with the world. And acting, in just my own opinion, is the most fun way to access that magic! Because when you remove the elements of competition and ego and create an artistic atmosphere not based on financial survival, but based on creative self-expression, the benefits are immeasurable for EVERYONE involved.
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My Bio/Resumes |
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Cumulative for the past 24 years, I have been working as a professional theatre and voice-over actor, director/choreographer, creative consultant, and private acting coach spanning from the Bay Area of central California to Los Angeles.
As an actor since 2001, I have been blessed with the opportunities to portray some of my most favorite roles with incredible artists and fantastic designers. Some notable roles include Barney in Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Fagin in Oliver, C.S. Lewis in Freud's Last Session, Groucho Marx in A Day in Hollywood, Night in the Ukraine, Jamie in Last 5 Years, and Haemon in Antigone. I had also begun working as a voice-over artist for video games with companies like Namco, Crystal Dynamics and SEGA. |
Photo Credit: Holly Lynch
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Some of my more recognizable video game credits include Jake in Time Crisis 3, Redmond in Whiplash, Sgt. Hatter in Virtual on Marz, Hyuga in the Phantasy Star Universe franchise and Michael Tolitson in the fan favorite cult classic Deadly Premonition.
Simultaneously, another exciting chapter opened up for me as I began directing and choreographing for both contemporary and musical theatre. Notable productions include Urinetown, Monty Pythons Spamalot, The Little Prince, the reimagined musical LUNCH (World Premiere), Shakespeare's Boy (World Premiere), Night at the Nutcracker (West Coast Premiere), and The Legend of Bonny Anne which was featured at the 2018 SHE L.A. Theatre Festival and was honored with awards for Best Playwright, Best Score, Best Ensemble and Best Direction. From 2011 - 2015, I was hired as the Resident Actor/Director for Cabrillo Stage in Aptos CA before moving to Los Angeles permanently to join the team at the production company Turning on the Light Entertainment in Reseda, CA. As an associate producer and director, the company mission was to produce positive and uplifting content and we produced a number of projects including the event Contagious Optimism Live, the TotLE Positive News Show for Empower Positive Radio, and the family musical feature film Lilly's Light starring Sherry Hursey, Philece Sampler and Mindy Sterling.
As an acting coach, I began teaching part time in 2003 starting with creative self-expression classes for 1st and 2nd graders at Blackford Elementary School in Campbell CA. By 2009, I began coaching privately and teaching Master Class Workshops as a special guest for theatre companies in the surrounding area. And in 2011, my creative colleague and I founded Spotlight Stage in Capitola CA. Through various productions, theatre intensives and master classes, Spotlight Stage focused on providing professional theatre training for youth performers ages 10 - 17. Some production and workshop examples include Starmites, The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods (Two Act Version), our annual summer 5-week musical theatre intensive entitled Hear My Song, and a Master Class Audition Workshop lead by the Tony Award Nominated, Emily Skinner.
In 2016, I began to add theatrical consulting to my resume by lending my talents to various artists looking for a sounding board for their own projects. Some creative consulting projects include the world premiere musicals Escaping Queens and Circus with music by Joe Ortiz and book by Greg Fritsch, The Legend of Bonny Anne with book by Chandler Patton and Score by Steven Schmidt, the family musical film Lilly's Light with screenplay by Sherry Hursey and Philece Sampler, and the one woman show It's All A Joke written and performed by actor/comic Marissa Fennell.
Simultaneously, another exciting chapter opened up for me as I began directing and choreographing for both contemporary and musical theatre. Notable productions include Urinetown, Monty Pythons Spamalot, The Little Prince, the reimagined musical LUNCH (World Premiere), Shakespeare's Boy (World Premiere), Night at the Nutcracker (West Coast Premiere), and The Legend of Bonny Anne which was featured at the 2018 SHE L.A. Theatre Festival and was honored with awards for Best Playwright, Best Score, Best Ensemble and Best Direction. From 2011 - 2015, I was hired as the Resident Actor/Director for Cabrillo Stage in Aptos CA before moving to Los Angeles permanently to join the team at the production company Turning on the Light Entertainment in Reseda, CA. As an associate producer and director, the company mission was to produce positive and uplifting content and we produced a number of projects including the event Contagious Optimism Live, the TotLE Positive News Show for Empower Positive Radio, and the family musical feature film Lilly's Light starring Sherry Hursey, Philece Sampler and Mindy Sterling.
As an acting coach, I began teaching part time in 2003 starting with creative self-expression classes for 1st and 2nd graders at Blackford Elementary School in Campbell CA. By 2009, I began coaching privately and teaching Master Class Workshops as a special guest for theatre companies in the surrounding area. And in 2011, my creative colleague and I founded Spotlight Stage in Capitola CA. Through various productions, theatre intensives and master classes, Spotlight Stage focused on providing professional theatre training for youth performers ages 10 - 17. Some production and workshop examples include Starmites, The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods (Two Act Version), our annual summer 5-week musical theatre intensive entitled Hear My Song, and a Master Class Audition Workshop lead by the Tony Award Nominated, Emily Skinner.
In 2016, I began to add theatrical consulting to my resume by lending my talents to various artists looking for a sounding board for their own projects. Some creative consulting projects include the world premiere musicals Escaping Queens and Circus with music by Joe Ortiz and book by Greg Fritsch, The Legend of Bonny Anne with book by Chandler Patton and Score by Steven Schmidt, the family musical film Lilly's Light with screenplay by Sherry Hursey and Philece Sampler, and the one woman show It's All A Joke written and performed by actor/comic Marissa Fennell.