About
I’m an actor and musician
The first time I acted was in a community theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof. I was 6 years old. I continued in elementary school, junior high, and high school (where I was fortunate to play Emile de Becque in South Pacific). After college I studied improv for a year at Player’s Workshop of the Second City, went to Oxford to study Shakespeare, and have trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop, with the fantastic Susan Hart & Jeffrey Carlson, and at various other schools. The full resume is right here…
I’ve been a freelance violinist around Chicago since graduating from Northwestern University in 1992, playing regularly with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Joffrey Ballet. I spent two summers at Interlochen, and three summers at Joseph Fuchs’ Alfred University Chamber Music Institute. I studied with Myron Kartman at Northwestern, where I also co-founded the Ad Hoc String Quartet with Paul Vanderwerf (and at least 6 other musicians at various points). More here…
I’m in the folk & roll band, Midwest
While designing a website to promote myself, I stumbled upon a third career trajectory that lasted almost 10 years. However, as of February 2010, I am no longer a web designer.
Filmmaking crept in there, too, because my friend Chris had a nice camera and we started shooting. Most of our films were connected with Split Pillow, where I also had the pleasure of working regularly with my wife, Mary-Terese Cozzola, who is a fantastic writer and director. Our film Eye of the Sandman is available at Amazon and on Netflix (she wrote it and co-directed, I play the evil and mysterious Spalanzani).
We have a dog named Django. Don’t try to pet her. Yeah, you’ll want to watch your fingers. It’s really best to ignore her. She’s an Australian Cattle Dog, mixed with something else (maybe Australian Kelpie?). We’ll get a DNA test at some point.
I grew up in Alaska
It’s cold. It’s dark. But only half the year. The other half is bright and, well, not so cold. My family moved to Anchorage in 1978 when I was 8. Our previous home had been Denton, Texas, and prior to that several small Kansas towns where my parents taught music. My dad was Professor of Music Theory & Composition at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where my mom taught voice. I’ve lived in Chicago now for over 20 years, but still consider myself an Alaskan even though the math says I only lived there 10 years. Go figure.