MY STORY

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs during the Michael Jordan glory days of the ’90s—playing sports, staying curious, and learning about teamwork, practice, and dedication. The sport itself came easily.

Eventually, my love for athletics led me somewhere unexpected: the world of theater. The language changed—“teamwork” became “ensemble,” “practice” turned into “rehearsal”—but the heart of it felt the same. Both worlds are about showing up, collaborating, and striving to be better together.

The big difference for me was that sports are often about winning and losing; theater invites us to explore who we are and how we connect. It asks questions instead of keeping score. That shift hooked me completely.

Grad school took me to London and the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA), where fifty students from around the world—speaking fifteen different languages—shared a passion for performance.

And there I hit a wall. Somehow I wasn't getting it like I used to. Everything I did seemed wrong. And every Friday, I'd board the tube home and feel utterly lost.

One weekend, a classmate invited me to try a weekend workshop in mime. I loved it. The precision, the accuracy, the certitude. The whole day, a seasoned teacher is telling us “yes” or “no” repeatedly. Slowly, I come to see the purpose behind the frustration at school. I’m not getting it “wrong”. On the contrary, I’m finding my way, living into the unknown.  I'm journeying towards something I can’t even see yet--coming to know myself as an artist. The frustration is itself the path.

I knew on that day: this physical theater world is my home.

That experience changed everything. It’s where I discovered the physical theater style that would later shape my teaching and company work. (And met my wife Alice!)

Most importantly, London helped me uncover my purpose: to open people to new ways of imagining, creating, and experiencing theater.

Since returning to Chicago, the journey has continued. I created Theater Unspeakable as a platform for devising new physical theater projects. For over a decade, we've been able to develop original pieces and tour them around the country to thousands of young audiences.

I worked for several years with Italian master teacher Paola Coletto to develop The School for Theater Creators. Together, we taught many short-form workshops in Chicago until finally we opened a full-time physical theater school. I learned so much from Paola’s unique approach to personalized education, which helped me develop my own style in the classroom.

And my wife Alice and I have teamed up to create Physical Theater Festival Chicago celebrating physical theater from around the world. The Festival lifts up the profile of local physical theater artists and nurtures a community around this work by hosting an annual summer festival. 

In all of this work I'm challenged again and again to open my eyes afresh to new ways of imagining theater.

I invite you to open your eyes as well.