Artistic Portfolio

"You were laid by vultures on a stump in a hollow. I found you, felt sorry for you and took you home to raise as my own"

Thomas Vines (My father)

My father told me this when I was four years of age. I believed him. Why wouldn't I? He was my father and I was his child. I had asked where I came from and this was his answer. I have never been the same since. Though I came to know the ‘truth’, that I was spawn in the traditional way, from my mother and father, I still embraced the ‘truth’ my father had given me early on. I prefer to think of myself in the other light. It makes me something more than ordinary. I was born different. I am unique. I am mythical. Therefore, being such, the reality of truth was and still is personal. The truth is what I make of it and therefore, what you make of it; what you believe it is; and oft times, what you can make others believe it to be. This is why I am an artist, writer, playwright (there is a difference), thespian, director, producer, instructor, historian, and secret agent man (okay, so I made that last one up).

To begin with, all these identities, each and every one, contribute to the truth and to the myth that is reality. Each one (in my personal opinion) are creators of myth and legend. Each one tells some form of story; professional liars the lot of them. But we (the collective ‘we’) do so out of the general good spirit called creativity and I thank (insert deity or Para-religious reference of choice here) that I am gifted (general arrogance) with that ability. That being said, I do all these things because to me, they offer in all their deceptions a form of truth: A truth that I have always sought.

I have never subscribed to traditional wisdom, conventional knowledge, or accepted methods of learning. From the moment we are born we are lead to believe that we must tell the truth but we are never truly told of what this truth consists. We soon are faced with the realization that this is not as simply done as it is said. Truth is subject to perceptions and perception to the experience. Therefore, the ‘truth’ of reality is that there are in fact, many truths. This understanding leaves me with a ferocious appetite that is desirous of knowledge. This hunger is a powerful motivator, often irrational, and seemingly endless.  It is this appetite that has led me through many of the experienced that have shaped my perspective.  My work in all the aforementioned areas is an ongoing investigation of the cause and effect of these experiences and the relationship of experience to intellect, the spirit, heredity and environment.

The journey along this path, this exploration of the truths I perceive has led me to a mass of interrelated ideas, motivations, and meanings. The ideals and standards that one sees is not necessarily that of another and therefore, a mixture of ideas and ideologies are present at any given divide. In this I see the opportunity.

My life up until now has been an exploration of these ideas and how they may be constructed and arranged in such a way as to give those I encounter, in any capacity, be it theatre or classroom, a different view of the world and of truth. It is my desire that each individual find something different from my work than would normally be perceptible to them. In this, the ‘truth’ of my work may be found but not singularly. As such, I seek places in which I may explore, create, evaluate, and construct on every level, in every area, and in all functions.  I seek to integrate myself into the completed process of my work, not just confine it to one singular aspect. Through this diversity of approaches I believe I am capable of finding my own persona truths, offer, and share them but not impose them upon the entire world.