I’m currently residing in Valdez, Alaska, where I work at Prince William Sound Community College. My two main jobs there are coordinating the Last Frontier Theatre Conference and heading the college’s Associates in Applied Science degree in Theatre.

I was born in upstate New York, Ithaca to be precise, but began working in theatre when I moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in 1984. While attending East Anchorage High School, I worked on thirty-six productions in four years, often skipping school right up until rehearsals began. Can’t say that I learned much about the art of theatre there, but I did learn that I love live performance. The craft education came later when I enrolled in the theatre degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage , one of the finest theatre programs in the Pacific Northwest (Special thanks to professors David Edgecombe and Tom Skore). I entered intending to keep acting, and won a couple of awards for that, but my focus shifted to directing. While at UAA, I directed the North American premiere of Seamus Heaney's The Cure at Troy, and my production of John Guare's The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year won me a "best director" award. I was also chosen as "best assistant director" for my work on a very cool Suzuki production of Richard 3, directed by Michael Hood.

While still an undergraduate, I took over and ran (into the ground) the Alaskan Rough Theatre Company, directing the world premiere of P. Shane Mitchell's The End of the Road, Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam and other productions.

In 1994, I found my true place in theatre and began writing plays. I developed the plays The Making of Eye Contact, Domestic Companion, and Sand & Granite On Liberty at UAA, getting my essential safe productions in a nurturing college environment. Within a few years, my plays were also getting staged by local companies, including the Eccentric Theatre Company and the now-defunct TOAST Theatre. To date, my plays have been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alaska, Washington, Texas, Illinois and Virginia.

A still from the Italian production of Bile In The Afterlife

In 2003, I had my international premiere when Bile in the Afterlife was produced in Bologne, Italy. I’ve won national awards for my short comedies Bile in the Afterlife, Domestic Companion, In a Red Sea and The Bus. My full-length play LibidOff has gone up twice off-Broadway and had a five week run at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco.

In addition to being a playwright, my other true calling is to help other playwrights find their voice. I first discovered this urge at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. I presented plays as part of their Play Lab for its first five years, placing fifth one year and earning the respect of the prestigious critiquing panel, which included Michael Warren Powell, Timothy Mason, William Hoffman, Ed Bullins, and many other notable figures of American Theatre. Michael offered me a membership in his New York Company, Circle East, and they have staged several of my short plays in New York City. In 2001, I was awarded the conference's Patricia Neal Acting Award.

In 2001, while living in San Francisco, I formed the Three Wise Monkeys Theatre Company with Richard Bernier and Aoise Stratford. The company is dedicated to producing new innovative plays by Bay Area writers. Since forming, we've produced the mini Short Leap Festival twice, three full-length productions, and produced and published the Bay One-Acts Festival three times. Despite now living in Valdez, I remain on board the company as literary manager. I also serve on the National Advisory Board of the Playwrights Center of San Francisco.