You’re about to enjoy the fascinatingly unique story of how I went from living sheltered in the suburbs of the midwest to moving cross-country to California in pursuit of my destiny to act.
I can blame my brother for that and the catalytic moment that started it all: He’s a seventh grade Seymour, professing his love for Audrey; I’m eight years old, watching from the audience, falling in love with the stage. While it would be years before I’d follow in my brother’s footsteps and play Seymour in a professional production of my own, it seemed nobody could shoot down the rocket I’d launched with a clear path toward stardom.
Despite a successful elementary and middle school career easing on down the road and fiddling on the roof, that starward rocket was indeed intercepted by a dictatorial high school drama teacher who repeatedly told me I’d be more successful in the audience than on stage. With a bruised heart, I took his advice and decided to pursue a literature degree and let performance become a hobby. Within weeks of arriving at college, however, I was donning Frank N. Furter’s heels and finding Pippin’s corner of the sky. My theatre professors helped me to see my artistic potential as I remembered the dream of that starry-eyed eight-year-old.
Graduation came and so did the grind of Chicago theatre as I spent the next seven years pounding the pavement in search of my big break. With only sporadic acting jobs and no traction in my career, reality set in that my dreams of Hollywood and Broadway may never come true. Once again, I allowed despair to creep in, and I settled for a call center job.
Soon after starting that position, I realized no office job on Earth could bring me the happiness of my childhood dreams. So I uprooted myself from that mundane life and moved - to a city, a state, a time zone I’d never before visited. Pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts in San Francisco opened new doors I didn’t know were unlocked. In the three years I lived in the City by the Bay, my creativity flourished, and I found far more work than I had back in the midwest. I made the jump from stage to screen, signed with a talent agency, and became eligible for the actors’ unions. Opportunities overwhelmed me, confirming my decision to move was the right one.
San Francisco was where I reconnected with my childhood love of the stage and the fun of becoming a different character. Finally, that once-misdirected rocket was ready to be relaunched into stardom. More than just that, I also realized that my fundamental purposes as an actor is to bring joy to others through my art. That I must follow the heart of my eight-year-old self, because just as I once stared up in amazement at an actor on stage, someone, somewhere might just be inspired by me to launch their own rocket to stardom.
I can blame my brother for that and the catalytic moment that started it all: He’s a seventh grade Seymour, professing his love for Audrey; I’m eight years old, watching from the audience, falling in love with the stage. While it would be years before I’d follow in my brother’s footsteps and play Seymour in a professional production of my own, it seemed nobody could shoot down the rocket I’d launched with a clear path toward stardom.
Despite a successful elementary and middle school career easing on down the road and fiddling on the roof, that starward rocket was indeed intercepted by a dictatorial high school drama teacher who repeatedly told me I’d be more successful in the audience than on stage. With a bruised heart, I took his advice and decided to pursue a literature degree and let performance become a hobby. Within weeks of arriving at college, however, I was donning Frank N. Furter’s heels and finding Pippin’s corner of the sky. My theatre professors helped me to see my artistic potential as I remembered the dream of that starry-eyed eight-year-old.
Graduation came and so did the grind of Chicago theatre as I spent the next seven years pounding the pavement in search of my big break. With only sporadic acting jobs and no traction in my career, reality set in that my dreams of Hollywood and Broadway may never come true. Once again, I allowed despair to creep in, and I settled for a call center job.
Soon after starting that position, I realized no office job on Earth could bring me the happiness of my childhood dreams. So I uprooted myself from that mundane life and moved - to a city, a state, a time zone I’d never before visited. Pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts in San Francisco opened new doors I didn’t know were unlocked. In the three years I lived in the City by the Bay, my creativity flourished, and I found far more work than I had back in the midwest. I made the jump from stage to screen, signed with a talent agency, and became eligible for the actors’ unions. Opportunities overwhelmed me, confirming my decision to move was the right one.
San Francisco was where I reconnected with my childhood love of the stage and the fun of becoming a different character. Finally, that once-misdirected rocket was ready to be relaunched into stardom. More than just that, I also realized that my fundamental purposes as an actor is to bring joy to others through my art. That I must follow the heart of my eight-year-old self, because just as I once stared up in amazement at an actor on stage, someone, somewhere might just be inspired by me to launch their own rocket to stardom.
Me (center) as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors 2008.
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My brother (right) and me in Sweeney Todd 2012.
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