About Me
About me… hmm… trying to write a bio about what I do, have done and want to do in life is like trying to pin down an over caffeinated bipolar greased pig. (Ok, even I don’t know what that means…sorry)
To put it bluntly, I’m too old to not know what I want to be when I grow up…but regardless, I don’t.
As a child (and adult for that matter) I’ve never let those silly things like rules, traditions or other people’s opinions shape my thinking or how I live my life. Therefore I never listened when people said that I needed to pick a path or career, stick to it, settle down, make a comfortable living and be a mature responsible member of society. I somehow missed that particular genetic gene or was absent the day that handbook was passed out.
Because of that my 5 decades on earth have been all about the thrill of the chase and the sights along the journey instead of the satisfaction of reaching a destination. This whole preamble is simply to explain to you (and perhaps to a lesser extent myself) why I’ve been so restless in my pursuit of what some call a career, a legacy or simply a life.
In Junior High I decided that I wanted to be an actor. I was shortly thereafter thrown out of the drama club because I thought everything that they were doing was stupid and a waste of time. Oddly enough many years later I would drop out of college and forgo my musical theatre degree for the exact same reasons. I would go on to make a living in the theatre as an actor/choreographer/director for the next 25 years. But to this day I still find it to be extremely difficult to fit into that world for some odd reason.
Now don’t get me wrong. There are some amazing individuals in the world of theatre (the ones who are focused on creating the art and not just in winning awards and living the lifestyle) The Great Russian director Constantin Stanislavski once said “Love art in yourself, not yourself in art”. The people that do that are the ones I respect and get along with in the field…the problem is those individuals are few and far between…thus why I don’t involve myself much anymore I suppose.
I’m going to list now some of the things that I’ve done since I’ve left college. Not to try and sound self absorbed or presumptuous (God knows it’s not a whole lot to shout from the mountain tops about) but just to help give perspective on where I’m coming from and what might shape (or twist) my opinions.
First and foremost my proudest accomplishment was serving 6 years in the United States Navy. I served aboard the destroyer USS Cushing DD-985. I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to and visit such amazing places as Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Panama among many others.
Upon my return to civilian life I spent the next 28 years in the always interesting and extremely soul-draining world of show biz. At one point or the other during those years I worked professionally as a radio disc jockey, a guitar player and singer in my own rock band, a ballet dancer with the Colorado Ballet, a film/television and stage actor, a choreographer, a songwriter, a theatre director, a producer, a children’s entertainer and an Executive Artistic Director for a national theatre company.
I’ve acted in and or directed over 200 musicals, produced over 40, choreographed so many I’ve lost count and have done lots of really bad commercials, independent films and short-lived television shows. My big claim to fame celebrity wise is that I’ve worked with Dennis Hopper, Keifer Sutherland, Raymond Burr, Tom Bosely and Peter Scolari…(yeah, I know, not exactly awe inspiring star power but hey…it was work.) I also wrote, produced and performed in a one-man children’s theatre piece that I toured to different schools and day care centers in Colorado for 6 years. I did over 10,000 performances for a total audience of over 200,000 kids.
Sprinkled in amongst all of that was a healthy sampling of jobs that all artists do throughout their careers to help keep the dream alive. In my case those jobs included restaurant work galore, limo driver, answering services, amusement parks and nightclubs. I was a dishwasher, busboy, waiter, cook, paperboy, doorman and bouncer. I answered the phone for doctors, lawyers, real estate agents and celebrities. I worked at Universal Studios in Hollywood, The Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills and was a carnival barker who would guess your age and weight at an amusement park in Colorado.
Oh and did I mention that in the midst of all of this I managed to marry the most incredible woman in the world and have raised an awesome daughter, who whether it be a good trait or bad has the same restless spirit for adventure that I have.
So…now at age 26×2 having lived life at full speed burning the candle at both ends (and whatever other cliché you want to throw in here) I find myself writing this for you and ready to begin another new and exciting chapter of life. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I hope you enjoy the world through my ever dysfunctional but insatiably adventure seeking eyes.
