Hometown: New York, NY
Education: University of Kansas B.A.'s in Theater and Psychology
Select Credits: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Judge LIttlefield/ Caiaphus the Elder, Sanguine Theatre Company); And then they Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank (Hitler Youth, The Coterie Theatre)
Why Theater?: I've been doing theater since middle school. From the start I got a rush when I learned that I could do something onstage and elicit a reaction from an audience. I love the immediacy and intimacy of the relationship between actor and audience in the theater. You can feel how engaged people are and you can hear their response to what is going on instantly. Each performance is unique because each audience will respond differently. I love the excitement and challenge that come with trying to connect and engage with a new audience each night.
Tell us about Or What She Will: Or What She Will is deals with some heavy material. It asks us what happens to a well-adjusted family when they are touched by life-altering events. Unfortunately this subject matter has become more timely due to the events of the Aurora, Colorado shooting. The actions of a single maladjusted person can affect not just individuals, but their entire families and the communities that those individuals reside in. This play deals with that subject matter by putting the events out of chronological order and making the emotional and psychological journey of the characters the thread that leads the audience from beginning to end.
What is it like being a part of Or What She Will?: Challenging. There are some scenes that are very hard to watch during rehearsal and I find myself having to exhale and shake off that intensity after seeing them. The cast and script are wonderful, and I find myself anticipating performing it for an audience to see how they are affected by the material. That being said, we certainly find times during the hard work to make each other laugh and enjoy the process of mounting this show!
What kind of theater speaks to you? Who or what inspires you as an artist?: I am most affected by theater that is grounded in real, human emotion. I once saw a one-man clown show that left me crying out of sheer joy because the character was innocently experiencing life before my eyes. I am inspired by the juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy. I find that even some of our most painful moments in life contain opportunities for laughter. Theater that doesn't shy away from letting those two elements of life life side-by-side and even on top of each other, is what speaks to me the most.
Any roles you are dying to play?: I can't think of a specific role, but I would love to play a character that is my actual age. Because of my youthful looks I find (as in this show) that I am either playing very young characters or very old characters. I would love to play a character in his mid-twenties while I am still in my mid-twenties.
What is your favorite showtune?: Is it blasphemous to say I don't particularly like showtunes? But, I do love "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
If you could work with anyone you've yet to work with, who would it be?: John Leguizamo
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Justin Timberlake. It would be called "Black or White".
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Anything on a Friday or Saturday night at The Upright Citizens Brigade or The People's Improv Theater.
What's your biggest guilty pleasure?: Blow Pops.
What's up next?: I'm getting married a week after Or What She Will closes. Then, who knows!
