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Not going for my master's. it would have solved a lot of problems I am now facing. I am now looking at getting it in Theater education, would I have felt that way at 25, probably not. I would have probably gotten it in directing or performing, because at 25 I thought performing was the only way to do theater, despite actively being engaged with costumers, directors, and stage managers.

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What is a lesson you have learned the hard way? How has it shaped you?

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What is a lesson you have learned the hard way? How has it shaped you?

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I can not fully fix my financial problems until I fully know the financial problems. Until I have a full grasp of everything, like income, debt all of that, I can't actually make a sizeable dent within it and nothing will change.

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Directing The Prom in May of 2024 at Star of the Day, in Emmaus, PA

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What’s a smell, sound, or taste that brings back a vivid memory? Share the story.

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What’s a smell, sound, or taste that brings back a vivid memory? Share the story.

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The sound of Talon going up and down will probably haunt my dreams. I worked in amusement parks for 10 years, so I've got several fun memories from working at various places across the country, such as the wild realization that I had to tell folks they couldn't play Pokémon Go on the job when it first came out in 2016, or a group outing to a museum in Florida to practice how to draw caricatures in preparation for having to teach others to do so.

My favorite memories, though, would have to be Haunt preview night here at Dorney Park. We would not really have much more than our normal work to worry about as Dorney Park switched from regular operation to the Haunt season. Oftentimes, we could go as a group to the preview night of Haunt, where they made sure all the actors and such felt prepared for the first night with patrons. It was a great reminder that the place we worked at was actually meant to be fun, while also giving us a chance to hang out outside of work, where we had to be somewhat professional.

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What’s an object from your childhood that you still hold onto? Why is it special to you?

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What’s an object from your childhood that you still hold onto? Why is it special to you?

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I have a board game called Pokémon Master Trainer. It was one of the first board games I ever received and has survived four or five moves at this point, including traveling halfway across the country to Chicago and back. The box is very worn, but I still hold on to it.

I also have several other items from my childhood that I keep but do not use. Ash and I still have many of our video game systems from when we were younger. Initially, we kept them because older game systems lacked backward compatibility, so we needed the original systems to play games on the GameCube or PS2. Although this is no longer an issue, we still have them.

We even have a television dedicated solely to those systems, as well as the Game Boys. I am unsure of their significance to my life, but I continue to hold on to them.

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What do you think peoples’ first impressions are of you?

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What do you think peoples’ first impressions are of you?

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I have to imagine part of it comes from being a straight, white, male-presenting person. I’d like to think I come across as a calm and approachable guy, but I know there are probably preconceived notions. Depending on their gender representation, people who don’t know me might feel the need to be cautious until they get to know me better. That’s probably the first impression I give to a lot of people. It’s not a fun answer, but it’s probably true.

However, I hope my first impression is that I’m a safe space. That can depend on the situation, though. For example, if I’m directing a musical or working with new volunteers, I’d want to come across as someone to respect and take seriously because of the leadership role and the process of creating something in that space. More often than not, though, I want people to see me as a safe and trustworthy person, even if how I look might suggest otherwise at first.

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Who has been the biggest supporter in your life? How have they impacted you?

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Who has been the biggest supporter in your life? How have they impacted you?

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Probably my partner Ash, but only because she is the person I interact with the most. The impact my partner has had on me is less about support and more about growth through understanding her worldview. It’s pretty obvious that I am a straight man, so having someone in my life who gives me the space to not only learn but also grow has been incredibly valuable. I can wholeheartedly say I would not be the person I am today without them.

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 "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good"

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 "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good"

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I cycle through quotes that I find helpful at different times, but one I often return to is "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good." I easily slip into problem-solving mode and aim to find the best possible solution, but "best" doesn’t always mean "perfect." There are times when a good solution is simple to achieve, and by seeking the perfect answer, we may create more struggle than necessary.

I recently read about a concept that expands on this idea: the notion that we are never without problems; we're simply trading one problem for another as we solve them. Since problems are inevitable, there’s no reason to always seek a perfect solution when a good one is often easier to find.

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What’s a moment in history you wish you could witness firsthand? Why?

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What’s a moment in history you wish you could witness firsthand? Why?

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I would love to be at an original performance of a Shakespearean play, especially with all the current discussion around the intention behind Romeo and Juliet. It would be amazing to see how Shakespeare shaped those stories, what influenced him, and what his intent as an author really was. With any great work that has stood the test of time—whether it’s by Shakespeare, Molière, or someone else—there’s this unique balance. On one hand, these works are so flexible and open to interpretation, but on the other hand, that same flexibility often means losing the author’s original intent.

Take Shakespeare’s plays, for example—they’ve been around for hundreds of years, and the further we get from them, the less the author’s intent really matters. Compare that to something like God of Carnage, which I’m directing this spring. That play came out in 2008, so the author’s intent is still very clear, and there’s only so much room for reinterpretation. But with something like Much Ado About Nothing or King Lear, you can do almost anything with it.

I’d also love to be there for the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. It would be fascinating to see how such a normal, everyday moment turned into something so huge, especially in the last five years. Did Gary Gygax, despite all his flaws, have any idea it would become what it is today? Did he realize it would outlive him? As someone who’s so into Dungeons & Dragons, it would be incredible to see how it all began and whether he had any sense of its future impact.

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 What’s a decision you made that shaped the course of your life? Would you make the same choice again?

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 What’s a decision you made that shaped the course of your life? Would you make the same choice again?

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I think moving to Chicago initially was that turning point for me. It’s not that I would change that decision, but if I had gone straight to pursue a Master’s, it might have affected things differently. Looking back, moving to Chicago was less about growth and more about avoiding something. My mom had just passed away before I graduated, so for me, it was less about seeking growth and more about not facing that loss. I don’t know that I would actively change it, but had I chosen to pursue my Master’s, things may have played out differently.

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What’s an obstacle you faced that you never thought you’d overcome, but did?

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What’s an obstacle you faced that you never thought you’d overcome, but did?

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I’m going to say the time I almost died. Not because I feel like I’ve fully come to understand the weight of almost dying, but because there was a moment when I was 18, in the ICU, struggling to breathe and only able to communicate by writing on a whiteboard. I literally wrote out the question, “Am I going to make it?” Looking back, though, I can’t think of anything since then where I’ve thought, “Oh, this isn’t going to be okay.”

One example: When I was living in Chicago, before Ash and I were dating, the night before something happened, I said “I love you” for the first time. That gives you some context about the kind of person I am. The very next day, my car got broken into in Philly on Diamond Street—because, well, it's Philly. Ash was freaking out, and I was just sitting there like, “It happened, so now we’re going to deal with it.” That’s kind of how I approach things now. There’s never been one thing that’s come up where I’ve thought, “No, this is the end. This is insurmountable.”

So, while the experience of almost dying was definitely an obstacle, I’m not sure it fully meets the criteria of your question. But it’s impacted me in that nothing since has felt as bad as that moment. That makes sense, but for a different reason.

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If you could give a younger person life advice, what would you say to them?

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If you could give a younger person life advice, what would you say to them?

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I’d say, “Who cares?” That can mean so many different things, but you can ask yourself that question in almost any situation. For instance, if you're sitting in rehearsal and stressed about talking to your director, you can ask yourself, “Who cares, man? He’s just a person.” Or, if you're thinking about your future, you can ask, “Who cares about the choice you're making?”

At the end of the day, sure, I wish I had gotten my master’s degree sooner. Would that have solved everything? Maybe. But nothing is broken, nothing is unfixable or insurmountable. You’re just going to trade out problems for different ones. Might they be better problems? Sure. But who cares?

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My parter and I going into act 2 of the extreme one day Shakespeare, of Much Ado About Nothing.

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Explaining how everything depends on your values.

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The cast and crew of White Christmas at the Pennsylvania Playhouse in December of 2024; where I met Sara.

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A video Sara took of me closing show of White Christmas