PROFESSOR OF THEATRE/ACTOR/DIRECTOR

I started this theatre thing many years ago. I remember, when I was ten, my mom offered to take my sister to an audition for the Flint (Michigan) Youth Theatre. I tagged along and was accepted into the program. My first role was Slightly in Peter Pan. That was it. The bug had bitten. I have been in and around the theatre ever since. Through high school and my time in the Air Force, I stayed involved and after I left the Air Force, I was off to the The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Eventually, I earned my B. A. in Theatre at the University of Texas at Dallas, a Master of Fine Arts in Acting at Michigan State University and my Ph.D. from the Director/Scholar program at Wayne State University in Detroit. I joined the faculty of Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA in 2001, where I am currently a Professor and Director of Theatre. I also serve as the Chair of Region II of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

 

In my non-theatre life, I have worked many jobs, from automobile inspector to television salesman to Army National Guard officer. I am married to the lovely Pam and father of two grown daughters. One lives in New York, the other in Chicago.

 

Some of my favorite roles have been Cassio in Othello, Jason in Medea, Joe Keller in All My Sons, and Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I still perform when the opportunity arises, but for the last several years my focus has been on directing. I lean toward contemporary and modern drama, especially when it has a social message. Some shows of which I am most proud are The Laramie Project, Stop Kiss, All My Sons and Born Yesterday. I have, however, found myself directing everything from musicals to Shakespeare. Other directing credits include: The Subject Was Roses, Lost in Yonkers, Crimes of the Heart, The Imaginary Invalid, Hot L Baltimore, Kiss Me Kate, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Echoes of the War and The Baker From Madrigal. Baker, translated and adapted by Dr. Jeffrey Bersett, was the English language premier of Traidor, inconfesso y martir by Jose Zorilla. In cooperation with the Hoyt Institute of Fine Art, in 2005, I co-wrote and directed Out of the Fire: Voices of the Holocaust. While on active duty with the United States Army Reserve in 2006, I directed Bigfoot Stole My Wife, the first show produced entirely by military and civilian personnel stationed in Baghdad’s International Zone.

 

My background is in traditional forms of theatre production, but lately I have been developing an interest in devised theatre and adaptation. For the last several years I have worked with my friend, psychologist, Dr. Sherri Pataki, in a combined course in which Sherri teaches about a current social issue and I lead the students in devising a play that we perform to raise awareness and sometimes funds. I have also adapted two works of fiction for the stage. I led a group of students in devising a play based on a book of short stories by Westminster’s own James Perkins, Snakes, Butterbeans & The Discovery of Electricity. The second was my solo adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

 

I am not sure where my next endeavor in theatre will take me. I will continue devising, perhaps bringing to life another novel or creating a work from scratch. I may even try my hand at traditional playwriting. Wherever I go, I am sure that I will be creating theatre for many years to come.