When I was sixteen, I spent part of the summer living in Granville Towers on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill with fifty one other high school students from around the country, including my best friend and tennis partner, Mike Russell. We were there for the National Radio, Television, and Motion Picture Workshop. We learned much about all of these mediums, and we made several films. I knew already I wanted to be a writer and a filmmaker, and some years later was actually accepted by USC Film School during my junior year of college, but I opted out of Southern Cal and headed to Mexico instead. The first of a series of moves to avoid committing to anything.
I’ve always believed eventually we live out our lives as they were meant to be, but not always the way we thought it would happen.
To that end, here’s what happened:
In the fall of 2026 I’ll be performing in a one man play at a theatre in the Catskills. After the three days of performances, a full film crew will arrive and we will spend the week shooting the play in the theatre with all the perks–lights, sound, make-up, sound engineers, and then post-production to turn it into a full fledged, albeit experimental and theater-like movie, which will be sent to Indie Lit Festivals and Streaming services everywhere.
“Front Row Seat” is about a professor on the last day of his career while he packs up his office, and what he files away triggers stories and memories, and philosophy, through his career, including too many tragedies and a lot of laughter. His observation of the behavior of nineteen-year-olds over the course of nearly four decades is a reflection on the changes in society, education, and family life, with always a sliver of hope.
Important note: The most impact this production will have is no-cost distribution to high schools and colleges throughout the country so students understand going in what they need to do and what not to do. These aren’t simply “stories” from an old guy leaving his job. They are carefully composed movements which together expose the deep-rooted aspects of college life that keep students from succeeding. Please help. This is truly an investment in education–as well as an enjoyable play/movie.
I started writing “Front Row Seat” many years ago and I kept adding stories; stories that included anecdotes, like the student who plagiarized me, and one who plagiarized my cousin, the one who threw a desk at me, and the Russian student who freaked out when I spoke Russian to him and he ran full speed out of the building and was never seen again. The brilliant student who became a friend who almost got killed on a study abroad trip only to come home and lose her life to her ex, and the poignant and often horrific stories from military students who came home from war with a different kind of education. There was that paper that belonged to a student who was shot and killed while at work the same time I was grading her paper, and how it took me years to throw it out, and the confrontation with a gang member in the bathroom late one night when I stayed to do my own work. Yeah, I had enough material for a play and a book
Hence, my forthcoming book (2027) Office Hours. But the “performance” part remained, and after several more years of ironing it out and trying out pieces of it to various classes and seminars, I knew it was ready. I’ve consulted with friends in the entertainment industry who, behind the scenes, steer me in the correct direction, and instead of “trying this play thing,” I decided to, how shall I say it, go all in on this. This isn’t me “taking a shot,” at anything; this isn’t getting my feet wet. This is me jumping off a freaking cliff with plans to land right in the middle of the Catskills with a full-fledged, professional film crew, editorial consultants, a PR person, supportive friends. Confidants, really, and a killer script.
So, we’ve started an Indigogo campaign for supporters, including the prized “Executive Producer” roles (the money people), tutors for acting, with still another year to fine tune the material. This is not hotel management or health club management. This isn’t teaching college, though it is about that. This project is a whole new way of life, and it is important. High School seniors and college freshman throughout the country will want to watch this movie. There’s no preaching, just reflection and regret, anecdotes and apologies.
Imagine that; a one-man play on stage in the most artsy community in the country, and a film capturing it all for distribution. That’s my life now. I’m still teaching college, of course. I mean, I could always use more material. But look, I found the people who are the best in their field and can remain a step ahead of me when I explain what I have in mind, and people who all you have to do is make a spark and they’ll burn bright for days on end.
I found the people who know what they are dong.
Something had to change. I decided it would be me.
Click Away:
a view from this wilderness 