Growing up in the wonderful city of Redmond, Washington, I wanted nothing more than to become a professional baseball player. Actually… I wanted to do anything and everything my older brother, Bryce, was doing (#youngersiblingissues). He played baseball, I played baseball; he played the piano, I played the piano; he did the third grade musical, I did the third grade musical.
My theatrical debut led to the fourth grade musical, which led to the... well you understand the freelance lifestyle. Bryce's theatrical career would come to a close in elementary school. Fear not, we shouldn't feel too sorry for him - Bryce happily works at Meta, AND has a retirement plan. Come ninth grade, my life decisions came to a crossroads – would I commit to the path to Major League Baseball or to the path to Broadway/Hollywood? Due to the competitive demands of both baseball and theatre, I needed to pursue only one. Robert Frost please don't fail me now!
It was time to hang up my baseball cleats and get serious about theatre. I auditioned for my first musical outside of my safe haven of high school: Village Theatre KIDSTAGE’s Les Miserables. I had no idea what the show was about, but I heard it was a good one and that they needed boys… so why not! Setting my 16-bar cut of “Close Every Door” on the piano, I took center stage and gave a soul-wrenching performance. With a mixture of passion and pubescent voice cracking, I somehow landed the student role of Courfeyrac and my life was changed forever. I discovered that you could go to college for musical theatre. New game plan: scratch the poli-sci degree and get that BFA!
I attended Syracuse University and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre, where I failed, triumphed, Marathoned, and honed my passion for this incredible art form. After four intense years of training, my fellow graduates and I finally made it to New York City! Thanks to the endless support of my incredible family and friends, I am able to create and collaborate for a living.