|
|
|
I have been involved in music and/or theater of some fashion practically my whole life. I suppose if one is truly "born" to something, I was "born" to this. My "Professional Career" has been sporadic and 'gyspy-like' (like most performers). My first "professional" job was as a dancer in the THEN new outdoor musical drama, TEXAS (1965). I went on to do over 1000 performances over a 16 year span I got my Bachelor's degree in Music Education and a Master's in Vocal Performance and Literature with a minor in Theory and Composition. Of course, the whole time I was acting and getting one of the best ad-hoc theatre educations one could hope for. My mentors and teachers had studied in New York with Richard Boleslavski - the primary force in bringing the Stanislavski system to America. After an Opera and Musical Comedy career in which took me to Europe, New York, California, and a long residency in Connecticut, I settled down with a “normal” job (computers) for most of the 80’s. In the early 1990’s we all moved back to Texas. In 2004, my wife, Donna, decided that it was time for her to retire after 35 years of public school teaching (I lasted about 4 years myself). Since our daughter and her husband were in Oklahoma teaching at UCO, and I had “split” from TEXAS (long story), we moved! So now, we’re OKIES – and what’s more we’re ALPACA farmers! I’m teaching at UCO (Acting), Lyric Theatre Academy (private voice, singing and performing all over the place, and basically getting on with the 2nd half of my life (does that mean I’m middle-aged? YIKES!) Life takes us some funny places, and we don't always end up where we thought we would. Now that my children are "grown" (at least in their OWN eyes), I have begun rekindling my career as a performer, director and voice teacher. I don't know where it will end up, but I'm having great fun finding out |