"Life beats down and crushes our souls and theatre reminds us that we have one. At least the type of theatre that I'm interested in; that is, theatre that moves an audience. You have the opportunity to literally impact the lives of people if they work on material that has integrity. But today, most actors simply want to be famous. Well, being an actor was never supposed to be about fame and money. Being an actor is a religious calling because you've been given the ability, the gift to inspire humanity. Think about that on the way to your soap opera audition." - Sanford Meisner
Welcome. I would like to apologize for not having my biography or resume on the first page of my website since, if your visiting here on purpose, its likely that those are the things you are looking for. I crave your indulgence for a moment... I have always believed in putting the most important things first and since I believe there is something more important to me as an actor then my biography or resume I am putting it on page one. This something can be called many different things but I prefer to call it simply "the reason I act". I am not deluded into thinking I am the best actor (most talented, most handsome, most experienced etc.) on this planet. So I ask myself the question... what force is it that compels me to act so incessantly; Day after day, moment after moment, show after show?
"You know it's all right to be wrong, but it's not all right not to try." - Sanford Meisner
The answer is quite simple. I have no choice. I am an actor. I do this because I have to. I do it because it's in my nature. I understand the meaning of the word "craft". A craft, be it music or be it theatre or be it blacksmithing, means dedicating ones life to the pursuit of excellence. I think every person who is open to the idea of a purpose driven life eventually has a moment where they know what they are dedicated to. What they couldn't quite even if they wanted to. For me this passion and purpose is theatre. Theatre teaches me how to live think and breathe. I owe my rediscovery of my humanity to a small college theatre in Alma, MI on October 1st 2005. I owe theatre my soul and will gladly dedicate my life to the desperate pursuit of this craft.
"Silence has a myriad of meanings. In the theater, silence is an absence of words, but never an absence of meaning." - Sanford Meisner
From the very first show I worked on at Alma I knew that acting was something I loved. Mainly because there was no acting involved. We act in life every day. We try to hide our goals and motivations from the world in order to protect ourselves. I knew right off the bat (though doing this was easier said then done) that theatre was trying to do the opposite of this. Theatre was about honestly laying yourself bare in front of an audience and letting yourself be judged. Showing your goal not necessarily to your partners on stage, but always to the audience. I didn't know how to do this yet, but I knew how desperately I wanted to learn.
"Every little moment has a meaning all its own." - Sanford Meisner
From there my journey started. I learned many things in my 4 years at Alma College. I learned the importance of really listening to your partner. I learned to stay in the moment. I learned to always be doing something on stage. I learned that there is no ordinary moments, there is never nothing going on. I learned to be unapologetically myself. To be kind to myself and not judge myself and perhaps most importantly that when something real is going on inside me its okay. In other words your instinct is where great acting comes from so don't squash your impulses.
"Acting can be fun. Don't let it get around." - Sanford Meisner
All these things helped me to be a better actor but more importantly, they helped me to be a better human being. I could no longer recognize myself without theatre as it has become an integral part of my soul and my humanity. I act to live and I act to inspire those who see me. At the end of the day I think that its the possibility of touching one person whether its the audience or my partner that makes me do theatre and I am proud to be a part of a tradition going back to the very first story tellers.