Hometown: Oneida, NY
Education: BFA in Acting from Pace University
Select Credits: Off-Broadway: That Bachelorette Show (Brian Burtleman), Regional: Side Show (Boss), Urinetown (Cladwell), TV: "Mysteries at the Castle" (Martin Luther)
Why theater?: There is no place I would rather be than onstage performing. The connections you have to other actors as well as the audience in a show makes the stage one of the most special places I have ever been. I first realized this around 8th grade and it made it hard to think about doing anything else but theater after.
Who do you play in Wild Women of Planet Wongo?: Louie Lefever, second in command of a space ship that delivers Potato chips to the far reaches of the galaxy.
Tell us about Wild Women of Planet Wongo: It is an interactive 60’s Sci-Fi musical comedy about two astronauts that crash on to a planet inhabited by only beautiful Alien women. Then Chaos ensues. The title comes from a 1958 movie called The Wild Women of Wongo. The musical version spoofs that movie as well as other 60’s movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space, and the Beach Party series.
What is it like being a part of Wild Women of Planet Wongo?: It is some of the most fun I’ve had on stage! This is my second time playing Louie. The audience is sometimes inches away from the actors and interacting with the all sorts of people every night makes each performance different and memorable. It never feels like the same show so it stays fresh.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Any that makes you think about it for days after. Whether it’s comedy or drama, play or musical, if the story is great I’m there. Lin Manuel Miranda and Louie CK are both people who seem to never stop working even though they are among the best in their field. Their work ethic and passion for that work inspires me.
Any roles you’re dying to play?: 10 years from now Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof
What’s your favorite showtune?: Anything from Les Miserables
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Lin Manuel Miranda or Mel Brooks
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Josh Gad and it would be called “How we doin: the Story of a Geeky Jew”
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The original cast of The Producers in 2001 or the Original cast of Fiddler on the Roof in 1964
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Hamilton and Book of Mormon
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Anything with superheroes.
What’s up next?: A short film that I was in Called “Oiled Up!” is starting to make its rounds through some different festivals.