Hometown: Midland, TX
Education: BFA in Acting from the University of Evansville and and MFA in Acting from the Old Globe, San Diego
Select Credits: Stupid F-Cking Bird, Midsummer Night's Dream, Equivocation (Arden Theater Company), Macbeth (Two River Theater - directed by Aaron Posner and Teller), 39 Steps, Peter And The Starcatcher (Walnut Street Theater), As You Like It, Measure For Measure, King Lear (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival)
Why theater?: I love the immediacy of connection between the performer and the audience. The way that chemistry changes from one night to the next, from one moment to the next. That's something that only exists in live performance.
Who do you play in Dogs of Rwanda?: I play David Zosia, an author who survived a harrowing experience during the Rwandan genocide and has written what is, perhaps, a less than honest account of it.
Tell us about Dogs of Rwanda: It's a journey. Not just in terms of the ground covered in the retelling of events, but of the character towards himself. The story wanders a bit, but it's a calculated wandering - an evasion. It's about someone trying to come to grips with reconciliation , but unprepared for the costs of both forgiving and being forgiven.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like theater that is complicated. Messy. Even morally ambiguous. The theater is a place for deep personal experiences and large emotion. I think that's true of both comedy and drama. Lord knows the best comedies come when there are perilous stakes!
Any roles you're dying to play?: All classical, I'm afraid! Cyrano, Iago, I'm getting a little long in the tooth for Hamlet, so I'm afraid he's going to get away - but Claudius is a pretty great part, too...
What's your favorite show tune?: There are so many! I've a real and true soft spot for Sondheim, but there's very little in Sweeney Todd that I could call a 'show tune.' At the end of the day, I'll probably have to go with 'Trouble" from The Music Man. It's infectious.
If you could work with anyone you've yet to work with, who would it be?: This is an enormous question. There are so many folks in the business right now that excite me in various ways - but to work alongside Mark Rylance would be just about the pinnacle. Ask me in a week and it'll be different.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Martin Freeman. It would probably be called something like "Keep Your Head Down."
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Oh, probably something at the Globe in Shakespeare's time. It's hard to pick a specific show - I'd be equally happy at both King Lear and Titus Andronicus.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Jerusalem on Broadway a few years back. In Philly, Into The Woods at Theater Horizon.
What's up next?: I actually hop straight into directing Importance Of Being Earnest at Hedgerow Theater, then I'm alternating roles with my co-founder Damon Bonetti when our company produces Maria Marten: Or, The Murder In The Red Barn.