Thrilled to announce that the maiden voyage of my short play, Aboard Narcissus, will be setting sail as part of the Z Fringe Festival in Virginia Beach on April 6th! Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, “The Offshore Pirate,” it’s a treat to see my adaptation move off my laptop and onto a real stage.

Hopefully I’ve learned more than just this list, but here are some fun ones for your consideration.

I love January. It’s planning a beautiful multi-course meal… then writing your grocery list. Per New Year tradition, I’ve begun the routine work of wading through expectations and goals for the year: some practical, some enriching, and others more abstract or dreamy. It’s a buffet laid out of good things, but how do I begin to eat it all?

My dear Tempter-in-Training,

The dawn of a new year — Instead of embracing the rigorous and inconvenient work of renewal, let us seize this time to help them refine their practice of ordinary living.

A little digital scrapbooking from 2024.

Choosing a thoughtful gift for your theatre person shouldn’t give you stage fright! With options that celebrate the art form and enhance appreciation for the stage, your gift is sure to get a standing ovation!

Courageousness is built up in the endurance of everyday trials. Small acts of faithfulness add up to a fortified strength. Through courage, we become more alive, more useful, and more human.

Our generation is distracted. We default to amusement, unaccustomed to the quiet practice of thinking carefully or thoroughly. This posture of amusement impacts our ability to create and to worship.

In art, value informs our style. When we are firm in our values it allows for greater freedom of expression. If we emphasize methods over principles, we look for prescriptive style. Without an actionable understanding of principles, artists rely on societal permission over authentic creativity.

The body is a strange thing. It is both something we have and something we are. In some ways we put it in submission and in others, we work alongside it.

July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness month. 2024 marks my 25th year since being diagnosed. Here are some reflections on God’s grace.

Summer Reading? Earn that personal pan pizza.

Donald Miller, Julia Cameron, Jean Rhys — oh my! Plus plays involving heat as a catalysis.

Using transferable skills to provide supplementary income is often the wisest choice in building a sustainable life in the arts.

A review of survival jobs options for artists: barista work, administration, coaching, and more.

One of these young artists disdainfully observed, “theatre school only prepares you to be a good ensemble member.” Others quickly chimed in with their agreement and I see the room come to this conclusion: theatre school doesn’t teach you to be an artist.

In the article, Luck and the Entrepreneur: the four kinds of luck, Marc Andreessen discusses the work of Dr. James Austin and how it applies to the business world. Here are some encouraging implications for the artist.

A handful of recommendations for the coming Spring, expectation of new life. The days keep getting longer, the temperatures more moderate, and soon the earth will “laugh in flowers.”

Answering, is theatre your first love? Like the high school sweethearts that end up married, continually pursuing an arts career is met with surprise. It’s not the typical story – all the more fun!

Delighted to announce the near opening of Cedarville University’s production of Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility (and my part in directing it!). It’s a treat living with Austen’s story and working with talented young artists passionate about telling it.

This time of year can be a bummer. No longer Christmas, the drudgery of early sunsets and frozen toes. It helps to have something to look forward to. I’ve collected some examples of little joys that hopefully inspire a more pleasant hibernation.

January of 2023, I spent New Year’s Day at the Art Gallery of Ontario wandering at my own pace before walking home in the rain. I had a latte and one of those overpriced pastries at the museum café for lunch, which added to the vibratory energy of the day. A new year!

I’m a Christian & work in theatre. Most of what I put here will likely cover that intersection, along with life updates and other notes about what I find enriching for a creative life. Cheers to new endeavors!