Dramatic Media Specialist

When I was born my mom went to the wrong hospital - we had to take the show on the road. This was my first improvisational experience! Since then I’ve experimented with and created all sorts of interesting work with audio, video, 3D, virtual reality and different styles of improvisation. 

What do you do?

I teach Commedia dell’Arte and work on digital projects.
Many of my projects involve theatre and multimedia - this is dramatic media.

What is Dramatic Media?

A definition of Dramatic Media is a “means of telling stories by way of stage, film, television, radio, or computer discs” - of course computer discs is a little dated but the meaning I think is clear.

From my perspective, Dramatic Media includes the new stages and spaces that are created by these media. I explore these new spaces and in some cases old spaces using Commedia dell’Arte (in particular the work of Antonio Fava) and Spolin techniques.

Commedia dell’Arte and Spolin

An immediate connection that explains itself in this way - both systems involve improvisation as a means of creating the final work  There is structure certainly in both styles which provides a platform for the creation of new works and a very interesting way of exploring both themes and spaces. This final observation - a method for exploration is of special interest to me. 

Just The Facts

Education/Training

• Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell’Arte 
  (Antonio Fava - Reggio Emilia, Italy)
  
  
• Participant - Story Theatre Workshop - Wisconsin Game Center -  I participated in the First Story Theatre Workshop presented at the Wisconsin Game Theatre. This workshop was conducted by Carol and Neva Sills.
   
• IO Training Center Graduate
  
  
• Annoyance Graduate
  
  
• Training Center of The Second City - Graduate
  
  
• 1986 MFA UCLA (Acting)
  
  
• 1984 BFA Tulane University (Acting)
  Monroe Lippmann Award for best student actor
  
• Alexander Technique - Edward Bouchard
  
  
• Shotokan Karate - Shojiro Sugiyama
  
  
• Chinese Gong Fu Association - Hong Chao

Artistic Appointments

• Fellow - Wayne V. and Elizabeth R. Jones Fine and Performing Arts Residential College 
  
  
• Fellow (2009) - Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities
  Research topic: The Future of Improv 
  
  
• Artistic Director / Founder  - Studio Z
  
  
• Artistic Director/ Co-founder - The Rough Theater
  
  
• Board member - Chicago Alliance for Playwrights 

Presentations/Panels

I have presented my work nationally and internationally for organizations and Universities including:

• Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)
• International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR)
• The League of Chicago Theaters
• Mid-America Theatre Conference
• New Media Consortium (NMC)
• Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico (SAIC)

Acting and Directing credits

Playwriting