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Actor in Plymouth, Connecticut, United States

So let me tell you a little about myself....So I was born June 24, 1983 (a Cancer) in Concord, MA on a Army base. Soon after that I moved to Hartford, CT. I have been in Hartford for most of my life but once I turned 18, I began to want more then what life had to offer in CT.

While I was really young, I fell in love with music. First I joined a church choir when I was about 7 years old and then I picked up the cello soon after that and never looked back. Now I grew up in the "... More;ghetto" where opportunities don't come to you, you go after them and as a kid I was hungry. I didn't let the fact that I was poor stop me from pursuing my art. I would go and steal income tax papers from my mom and forge her signature on applications so I can get scholarships towards cello lessons or voice lessons (yea, I was a brat as a kid). I just couldn't accept that my life wasn't meant for more then what was being offered. It would have been easy to become another statistic, sell drugs, live off the welfare system and accept that my life wouldn't be more then mediocre. But "NO" I would tell myself in my head, because that life wasn't rewarding and sounded more stressful then just simply applying myself.

Anyhoo, throughout Middle/High School I focused on my voice and my cello skills. My goal was to be the black "Yo Yo Ma" (for those who don't know who he is, he is one of the most recognized cello players in the world. Also I wanted to be a opera singer (I know......Opera......eh.......). I think being apart of the church world (traditional Episcopal church enough said) made me really interested in classical music and made me a very serious kid. I didn't understand why the kids around me didn't have as much focus as me......instead of playing tag with the kids in the neighborhood, I was practicing the cello, working on my music theory *at the time I had perfect pitch, so I just worked on improving it.*

Something then happened to me once I entered High School. I attended the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and was introduced to Musical Theater (I know....super gay.....but whatever LOL). I worked with Carolyn Kirsch (a very well known Broadway performer), and she saw something in me that I didn't know was inside of me. She helped bring out my love for being on stage. I would sing the songs of Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter with ease and that's when I knew that singing and acting on stage was for me. Now I was still into my cello but more and more my interest for the cello started to fade. So my Junior year of High School I left the music program at GHAA and entered the acting program. Now once I entered the acting program, I started to stress about memorizing words to monologues and scenes and lost connection with the character development aspect of being an actor and I bombed the program. They told me that acting wasn't my thing and that I should pursue something more logical like business or becoming a teacher. I said screw them, I know I'm good, lol. So my senior year I attended my regular HS full-time and help launched our new theater program at the school by starring in their first musical as Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat". Originally I was going to be the Narrator but they couldn't find a guy to sing the role, so I told them I would audition for it and got it. That was such a amazing experience as I was encouraged to pursue theater and was told I was better then Donny Osmond (the Joseph on the PBS dvd of the show). Wow, so Broadway must be where I should be.

Now time to auditions for colleges. I auditioned for all the top schools and got into most of them (Boston Conservatory, Ithaca and Carnegie Mellon) the problem was I couldn't afford most of these schools. So I chose U of Hartford. I lasted a semester. I just had no interested in school......I just wanted to perform. So I auditioned for local shows trying to build my resume before going to NYC. I lucked out, I got alot of the lead roles I auditioned for but it wasn't enough. So I did summer stock. One of the worst and best experiences ever! I wasn't the most sociable person in the world and I continued to take myself way too serious. Anyways, it was a great learning experience and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Now what? Back to CT I go and enroll to Central CT. State University for music education (a degree that took 9 years to get). Again, lasted a semester and I was out. So I apply for The Hartford Conservatory for their musical theater program (only 2 years and no academics YES!). Something else that also took several years to complete.

In between all of this I kept moving. First it was to Chicago because I was cast in a couple of productions (paying....equity.....oh yea!) including Ragtime (my favorite show of all time at the time as Coalhouse Walker Jr. - Male lead.) Side note: Brian Stokes Mitchell originated the role and that is when I thought "hey I can do this too".....So from Chicago, I went to Wisconsin and did a couple of shows. So then I went to LA. Remember I'm a star in the making so film and television would be sooooo easy for me to make my mark....WRONG!!!!!!!!!

I got to LA and hated it. I had to work a regular job so much just to keep up with bills that I barely went to auditions and without a car....HA!....So after I filmed a pliot that didn't get picked up....Back to CT I go......

Depressed and miserable, I gained 100lbs and gave up on life. Then someone called me to play Hudd in a production of Hair and that I came highly recommended....but who recommended me???? It was my old teacher from HS who thought I would be perfect for the role and also to help me get out of my funk.

It worked. I did the show and started to get back in shape and in the process I finished The Hartford Conservatory program and CCSU with a BA in Music Ed (can't teach in the school system tho....never took the test eh...)

So now I'm ready to try it again, so I move to NYC.....once again, not truly prepared. I wasn't a true triple threat (singer/acting....um dancer?eh) I knew how to dance but figured I was more of "leading" man type and not a chorus boy. But man the people in NYC are talented and are quick to remind you everyday how much better they are then you...So once again depression kicked in and I moved back to CT to create the safe life.

Once in CT I was going to start a community theater in Hartford and expose inner city to traditional musicals but I realized that I needed to be on the stage. So that like most of the things in my life, fell to the waste side.

So one day at work there was a girl who was Indian who introduced me to Bollywood. I know Bollywood of all things. I fell in love with the music, the hindi language, and especially the dance. I thought it was a great combination of musical theater and film making. I know can't give up because I'm almost 30 and I need to achieve great things in my life. So now I'm setting my eyes back to Hollywood. And this time I'm going to do it right and not give with the objective of getting the money together to begin my own international production company where I can feature myself in a Bollywood style film and also other projects that I feel passionate.

I know I have the skills and the hunger, its all about just simply going for it. This blog will follow me on the journey, also play as a part of keeping me focus. With the help of Bollywood, my interest in films from all over the world has become stronger and stronger, to the point that this is all I can see myself doing. I still love musicals and will not abandon them all together, but right now I'm going to focus on film and television and see where that takes me.

Look for me on a screen near you! Less