Video Experiments
When I was 9 years old I had access to
my first camcorder. It was a RCA VHS
camcorder built in 1989/1990. I spent
some time learning the basics and was
soon creating short films with my
brother Jacek. Me and Jacek would
recreate movies from our pop-culture
upbrining including our first film with a
semblance of narrative, a play on Bruce
Lee’s bad lyp syncing. That was when I
was 9 years old. My dad Mac would
later “accidently” erase the tape of me
and my brothers first video project, and
most likely several projects after that.
Theatre Performance
I was just twelve years old when I was
cast for the role of Leroy Herdman in
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at
the Performing Arts Center in MIlwaukee
(Currently named the Milwaukee
Center for the Performing Arts). I was
inspired by Jon Layton to persue a
career in performance. Layton later
cast me in two productions all without
having to audition. I would go on to
appear in 4 theatre productions before
finishing highschool.
Stand-Up Please
Although I enjoyed performing in
theatres; I was bothered that I couldn’t
really express myself in this way. I had
things to say (at 16) and was interested
in pursuing alternative venues. In the
fall of 1997 my brother Jacek spotted
an ad in the Milwaukee Journal looking
for “Comedians.” I responded and was
soon performing in front of an
audience in Grafton,WI. It was the first
time I was in a bar without a parent or
gaurdian present. The man who ran the
show was named David.David would
later attend a comedy class with me
taught by Roz Turner.I enjoyed the
adult atmosphere but was releuctant to
stick to my rudimentary act. I finished
one of my performances with an
attempt at improvisation, and failed–I
hated the performance so much I would
avoid appearing alone on stage until
about 2 years later as a student at
UWM.
College or Not?
After taking an 8 hour HSED test I
passed highschool and began planning
for my college studies. I took the ACT
and scored a 22 composite. This was
reasonable considering I had not
learned anything during the last two
years of highschool. I took my [ACT]
score to UW-Milwaukee admissions and
registered to attend the film program. I
attended classes, but soon lost
interest–mostly from an innability to
handle the workload of 15 credit
semesters. I begain hanging out at the
student cafe. It was called the 8th note
and (at that time) was featured as a
smoky haven for everyone on campus
addicted to nicotine.
Don’t Waste the Stage
Feeling highly “intellectual” in the
atmosphere of University I began to
pester the students working at the 8th
note about the lack of performances on
the tiny stage. I managed to gain
permission from one of the students to
do a short 5 minute performance.
Having nothing prepared and no idea
what I should talk about I started
talking about a world made out of
cheese and switched to a tangent about
running. Althoug the performance
basically sucked it motivated me, and
sparked an interest in “raw improv.”
Although I had performed improv in
highschool, this performance had a
differant style to it. While performing I
made friends with a coffee shop
patron/student Robert Rudnick. We
would have countless discussions about
performance, film, and general culture
until losing contact somtime around
2002. College was not for me [at the
time] and so I dropped out after a
single semester.
The Couch and Other Coffee Shops
I would perform in nearly 70 performances
between 2000 and 2005.
These appearances would last
anywhere from 3 minutes to 45
minutes and would most often be
unpaid. I was sometimes reimbursed
for my gas money. I was so excited by
the prospect of living the renegade
performer lifestyle I took little care for
my monetary success. It wouldn’t be
until I turned 23 that I would return to
College, as a student at the MIlwaukee
insitute of Art & Design.
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