This has all been entirely unexpected.
When I forgot my lines in the middle of my seventh-grade school play, I vowed that I’d never do anything like that again. So I changed course, got an M.A. in Philosophy and was all prepared for life in the ivory tower. But then one day, while doing research, I came across a very important book that had been taken out exactly three times in its eighty-year life – the last time being forty years prior. And I thought, “What’s the point of all this hard work to write something brilliant if exactly three people will ever read it?”
So I changed course. My passion for photography got me a position as a stills photographer on film sets, and over the next three years I worked on everything from no-budget student productions to major studio pictures, doing everything from lighting, gripping, camera, sound recording, writing, producing, and directing. But then one day, after working another week of nights in the Vancouver rain, I found myself with five other men moving a 600-lb transformer down a long and narrow flight of stairs. And I thought, “They should hire gorillas to do this. They’re stronger, and more agile, and far less likely to suffer a career-ending injury.”
So I changed course. I parlayed my Philosophy degree and my experience in the film industry into a consultancy position at Transparency International, But then one day, after mis-reading a notice in an expat bar, I found myself in a smoky underground jazz bar just off of the Old Town Square, accidentally auditioning for a sketch comedy show. And I thought, “This is amazing. I want to do this for the rest of my life.”
So I changed course one last time and found myself right back where I started. But I knew I needed training, so I got it everywhere I could: Prague, Denmark, Serbia, Bali, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Oslo, L.A., and NYC. I studied Practical Aesthetics at the Atlantic Acting Conservatory; Fitzmaurice Voicework with Catherine Fitzmaurice; Improv with Keith Johnstone; Grotowski with Odin Teatret and Dah Teatar; Balinese Mask and Michael Chekhov with Per Brahe and Aole Miller; and countless weekend workshops in between.
In 2007, I started Well-Drawn Dog Productions as the home for my film projects. My shorts have played at festivals all over the world where they have been nominated for, and won, several awards. My first feature film, Bank$tas, which I wrote and executive produced, premiered at CineFest Sudbury in 2013 and was released theatrically in the U.S. in the fall of 2014 by Main Street Films, and in Canada by D Films. My second film, Yesterday last year, which I wrote and produced, was completed in 2016, shot in 9 days on a budget of $4,500. It premiered at 2017 Sci-Fi London, and played at science-fiction film festivals across the world, winning Best Feature Film at the 6th Annual GeekFest.
Now I live in Queens with my wife and 3-year-old son. And I wouldn’t change this course for the world.