Folks say I have an interesting life, so I'll try to do my best to make an interesting bio. Doing it in the first person is risky, because you run the risk of being... well... less than humble. Doing it in the third person, you run the risk of sounding like a press release. Once I wrote a short story in the second person. Seriously.
Okay, so I started writing stories when I was six, fortunately none of them survived. I wrote a novel at 17, and it's ok... I never considered myself a prodigy, it just took a lot of work. Remember the days of the typewriter? Rewrites and mistakes were horrid. You had to retype the whole page, or use that correcto stuff. Nobody wanted you to submit on erasable paper, nobody allowed for evidence of a spelling error. Get real!
I began writing plays seriously in 1986 or so; there was a contest here in St. Louis, and I scribbled out a short two act (longhand, come to think), typed it up on computer, and sent it in. That was Condemned Prisoners, which got an honorable mention in the contest, and later a first prize in another contest... and all on a first draft! Well, these days I rewrite. I try as a writer to reach across the spectrum of plot, character, and subject matter, so it's not all the same stuff or the same agenda. With Ragged Blade, we've done a lot of different material, from a gay bondage musical called Ship In A Bottle, a edgy social issue plays such as Brushup Ten and Demonic Heights, and upbeat fun comedies such as Full Frontal Nudity and Recipe For Murder. I think success as a writer comes from being able to think like other people without letting your own prejudices get in the way. To see someone's point of view and allow yourself, while you're writing that character, to believe it as strongly as they do.
Since we do original work, we get the opportunity to run a world premiere most of the time; it gives our actors a chance to create new characters, and other folks a chance to exercise creativity without having a movie or play, or 1,000 other versions of the same show to compare it to. You can't copy, compare, or contrast, you just start from scratch. I've had nearly 80 full length, one act, or shorter published by Brooklyn Publishers of Odessa, Texas, and as such much of my work is performed around the country, and perhaps around the world. I publish under my own name as well as a pseudomym, so there's twice as much of me than you think. Brooklyn goes mainly to the high school drama market. It's been a challenge. You have to write well, but clean. Very clean. You need a 1940's Hollywood perspective on sexuality. The kids might not mind, the parents probably do.
Once I saw a high school do my play "Pageant Perfect." It was fun for me because I initially wrote it when I was 16. With a LOT of rewriting, I finally got to see it on stage almost 25 years later. And the cast was excitied to meet a writer who suddenly became a real person, rather than just a name on the script.
As a composer I've written all kinds of music from classical to rock and new age and things in between. The score to our most recent musical Angel Project was noted for it's wide variety of musical styles. I used to play keyboards around town in coffee houses and such, and I've done music for a few locally produced videos as well as for theater companies, including St. Louis Shakespeare back in the 80s and more recently The Celestial Theatre.
Working as part of Ragged Blade has given me experience in all facets of production, though I still hate building the set. I also know from doing this that while Skip Hardesty and I started the company to produce my plays, it is only successful through the committment, dedication, and support of countless others. Check out our players page to meet some of the folks involved in bringing our shows to life.
A short resume follows below:
Director:
Actor:
Music Director, keyboard player either live or pre-recorded
Award Winning Scripts:
Contest Finalist Plays:
Musical Compositions Include
Over the course of life, I've come up with a few maxims I thought I'd share, some of them clock in as more useful than others, but all of them, at one time or another, may be of some help.
If you feel like sharing thoughts, philosophies, or friendship, feel free. I'm a nice guy
