About Me

So why puppets?

The short answer is that in my freshman year of college I had one of those epiphanies you're supposed to have in college. I went to an exhibit of Jim Henson's early works and, of course, loved everything that I saw. "Golly," I thought, "I wish I could do this... well, hey... what's stopping me?"

So I went back to college and began to figure out how I could go about making this idea possible. One option available at the University of Delaware was the Dean's Scholar Program. To meet the necessary criteria, I wrote a series of essays and created a curriculum unlike any available that would expose me to fields I thought would be helpful. After some presentations to a panel of deans and professors, I was free to pursue my goal.

I immersed myself in art and theater courses, with forays into human anatomy and anthropology. In addition, I made masks and puppets for a local school and for Landis and Co., a touring theater troupe (now known as Enchantment Theatre Company). I gave the rest of my free time to a college theater group called E-52.

My studies led me to a stay in Bali, Indonesia. For six weeks, I studied wayang kulit, Balinese shadow puppetry, under the tutelage of I Wayan Mardika Bhuana and I Kadek Budi Setiawan. This was made possible through a program run by the Dell'Arte School of Movement. They arranged for transportation and a place to stay, and provided additional classes in masked performance and movement.

Upon my return and following my graduation, I worked for Squonk Opera in Pittsburgh, PA. Most recently, with support from the Puppet Showplace Theater in Boston, MA, I have started to focus on solo performances.