I'm Back with an abundance of Love! Valour! Compassion!

I was raised in a Lutheran household in the wide barren plains of Wyoming. I was told never to brag, boast, or toot ones horn too loudly. Take this ingrained distaste for self promotion as the reason I've neglected updating this blog and this website for so long. Please accept my apologies and let me fill you in on the past pretty busy year.

In the fall I performed as Kulygen in Apollinaire's production of Three Sisters. It was my first time doing Chekhov and I found it a challenging but ultimately rewarding experience. Apparently the reviewers thought so too as we performed for cozy but sold out shows for almost the entirety of our run and I was nominated not only for my fifth IRNE (Indepent Reviewers of New England Awards) for the role but I was also nominated for my very first Elliot Norton Award for Most Outstanding Actor for the same role!

In the winter I did a trio of commercial spots, one for a company called Leash, one for Last Pass, and then I partnered once again with Hostgator to do a series of six short online spots. I haven't seen the Last Pass footage yet, but I'm very happy with the others. It's great when you can be a goofball all day and get paid for it.

I spent the rest of the summer directing the North American debut of Roland Schimmelpfennig's play, Winter Solstice. As someone who usually just tries to show up to rehearsals and performances on time and have his lines and blocking down, Schimmelpfennig's eddying chaos of a script proved extremely challenging but so rewarding. I found myself watching almost every performance so proud I was of the work that the actors and the designers achieved. In a year full of amazing opportunities, directing this play and working with Danielle, David, Ambjorn, Phil, Brian and Maureen on that beast has been me at my proudest. The Globe even did an article on it!

I also had the pleasure of attending the premiere of the Boston International Film Festival this spring. A short film I acted in called The Sixth Amendment was one of three headliners for the festival and it was really uncanny to sit in a darkened theater and watch yourself on screen. What was more uncanny was so many strangers walking up to me at the afterparty congratulating me. I'm used to people doing that after plays, but since I didn't actively "perform" that night it somehow confused me that people would recognize my work. It was a surreal experience I hope I get to experience again.

Last but not least this weekend we wrap up an critically lauded run of Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrance McNally with Zeitgeist Stage Company. I play a set of twin british brothers who could not be farther in temperament from each other. It's a tremendous cast and we've had a tremendous run and I feel so lucky to have gotten to do such meaty material with such wonderful company.

If you're reading this soon after I post this blog post please know that I'm still working on updating my website and much of my theatrical credits in the last two years have not been put up. I'm really proud and grateful for the work I've done this past year and am even more excited to share what's coming round the bend. It's going to be worth checking out, believe me!