I was getting into a cab a few weeks ago; it’s not a regular occurrence for me, I’m more of a straphanger on the subway kind of guy. I get into the cab and give directions to where I am going. The cab driver says no problem and we have a few pleasantries. After a few moments he says, “My friend, can I ask you a question?” I know where this is going; I have been asked if I could be asked a question hundreds of times. I nod my head and say, “Sure, go ahead.” “What happened to your hand?” “I was born without it” I reply. “I see,”… read more →
Last year, I was at a bar in New York City talking shop with a few other actors and artists from my alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. We were talking about creating our own work and brainstorming on ways we could collaborate together. I soon found out about the 48-hour Disability Film Challenge. It was created to encourage artists with disabilities to collaborate with each other and other working artists without disabilities to make fun and engaging short films. I went back to the UNC-G folks I was talking with at the bar and pitched the idea that we should work on making a film for… read more →
I am standing at the forefront of one of the biggest changes in my life. In the next few days I will become a father. The impact of this change is unimaginable for me right now. Don’t get me wrong, I am so excited but in all honesty I’m also very scared. Intellectually, I know this is normal. All the books and blogs I’ve been reading have reassured me but I’ve been asking, “What is it that is making me scared?” Is it the fear I will fail my child? Is it the fear I will lose my identity? The fear of life as I know it changing? It is… read more →
Nobody likes to lose. We all want to win, we want to lift our arms in victory and hold up the trophy. It seems almost everything in our culture is a competition. Everywhere you look someone is trying to dance off, sing off, cook off, or date off the competition. The winners are celebrated and the losers are shuffled off with their heads hanging. It is very risky to put ourselves out there and risk the pain and frustration that comes from not being number one. But is there another way to look at it? Can we find a “win” in the middle of a loss? I just experienced this… read more →
April has been, among other things, “limb loss awareness” month. As a kid I was keenly aware of my limb loss but didn’t have a mentor whom I saw going through the same experience. My childhood days were spent trying to figure out how I fit into the world and working hard as I could to find my place on the playground, on the bike trails or on the ball field. There was also Ty Bullard’s back yard. This vast oasis of freshly cut grass was the home field for football games for the boys of the Ellis Point neighborhood. Ty and his friends were older than I was and… read more →
I am very excited to begin my new speaking keynote and blog, Navigating a Two-Handed World…Single-Handedly. Back in 1998 I was working for the Phoenix Theatre for Children in Columbus, OH. I would tell these stories of my life growing up with one-hand and of my hilarious and entertaining family. The artistic director suggested I take these stories and write a one-person play. It took a few years but I created my first solo play, The Quest and began a journey that has led me to this moment. Over the past 12 years I have created three solo plays and began using aspects of my solo performance to create a… read more →