Q: What drew you to the theater at such a young age? My mother always liked musicals, and as a young kid I would listen and pretend that I was directing the show. She’s the one who got me to audition for the Reading Civic Theater. I didn’t get in, so I took some dancing lessons, and around age 12 I got into the chorus of the Civic Theater’s Fiddler on the Roof.
Q: When did you first join Genesius Theater? Right around that time, when Genesius started. Jane Simmon Miller wanted to start a place where kids got the opportunity to get involved. You see, theater back then was for older people and married couples. I quickly moved over there because I knew there was going to be a lot more opportunity, and sure enough there was. Not only did we do a lot more shows, I was Assistant Stage Manager at 14, Assistant Director at 15, and directing children’s shows at 16. By the time I was 18 and moved to New York, I had already been involved in more than 65 productions.
Q: During your time in New York you had the chance to work with some legendary figures. What was that like? It was very cool. I was just a young man and they were quite larger than life for me. I kind of just walked around in awe. I got to know Geraldine Fitzgerald really well, and she was fascinating. She’s a great lady and I learned a lot from her.
Q: What is your vision for Genesius? One of the problems when I first got back was that it felt like every time there was a whole new production company. There was no continuity. We wanted to create continuity and quality of production values. We worked very hard on that, and now it’s "Genesius Theater presents" and not the other way around.
Q: Do you think the theater has impacted the culture of Downtown Reading? It really has. To be honest, several people have suggested that we move out to West Reading, but I love downtown. I love the city and I wish we didn’t have some of the obstacles that we do. They say people don’t want to cross the bridge, but tell that to Judy’s and the Peanut Bar and the arena and the Santander Performing Arts Center. They’re all doing pretty darn well. You know why? Because you can’t get those experiences in the ‘burbs. And you can’t get Genesius Theater in the ‘burbs.
Q: So you like to spend your free time in town? You know, all I do is theater. My life revolves around what we do at Genesius. But I’m a very big believer in local business, so I try to support local a lot. Otherwise I’m a stagehand for the union at the arena; I run my business hosting team building games and murder mystery events; I write; and I direct and produce theater at Genesius.
