Excelsior Journeys: Behind the Scenes

It may have taken a bit longer than I intended for the 30 episodes to be posted, but 30 episodes were recorded by November 30. So I'll take my asterisk and drop a little bit of info about my latest short script, which is already getting quite a bit of attention. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comic...

It's time for the gala. Would I get my first actual award for my writing? Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those voices as much as possible to not only provide e...

I had no idea how quickly I would find my people at the Austin Revolution Film Festival. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those voices as much as possible to not...

Something I wrote has been nominated for an award! So of course, I was going to be there for it. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those voices as much as possibl...

In 2023, I wrote my first short film script in over 25 years... and it would change my life for the better. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those voices as much...

I always wanted to see if I had what it took to write a 24-Hour Play, to go from idea to concept to finished script to rehearsed show and performance in just 24 hours. In 2005, I found out I did have what it took to do that. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters,...

In 1999, a group of my friends & I had a camera and a LOT of very random ideas, with New York City as our backdrop. It was a magical time, and it led to a Monster Musical Adventure. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journe...

It's a great feeling when someone says they have an idea with a script and they're looking in your direction to write it. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those...

It was known as "Manhunter." Then it was known as "Submission." Now and forever, the story that became a video game, then a treatment, then a script, and finally a book before a series of books will always be From Parts Unknown. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, paint...

I took another shot not long after the film festival and tried submitting "Seeking Retribution" to a new project Matt Damon & Ben Affleck started on HBO... Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It...

After I finished the script for "Manhunter," I took a shot at entering it into a film festival in NYC... and it got in! Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those vo...

One day, I asked myself, what would that video game idea look like as a treatment to a film? Later on, I asked what that treatment would look like as a feature-length script. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to perso...

30 years after this idea took shape, it's still going today. I'm very proud of it. Here's how the story that would eventually be "From Parts Unknown" found its way to different media. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys...

FINALLY! Something I wrote actually went somewhere. This is the story of my first completed short film script. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those voices as m...

I never thought I would have so much fun in college, but that's what my final semester was. And that led to a LOT of writing. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate th...

I took a couple dips into the wonderful world of fan-fiction, and one of them even made its way to becoming a finished screenplay. To read Batman Triumphant, click HERE . Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal...

Very grateful that my college allowed me to take another crack at playwriting. Special Thanks to voice actors Audra Angelique & Erika Harvey for performing one of my short scripts I found. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their...

The summer of 1996 brought about the completion of two very different screenplays, plus an unexpected idea for another. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very important to celebrate those vo...

Thanks to some musical inspiration, I realized that there was a trilogy in Phoenix Rising, not just one story. And the end results... weren't bad. But these characters had a much bigger destiny elsewhere... Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc)...

I didn't have to wait long before someone would reach out and ask me to write a screenplay for them. My first unpaid commission - which wouldn't be the last - was a very interesting experience and it just might be worth revisiting in the future. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voi...

Years after I graduated from college, I heard how writer/director Robert Rodriguez declared indie filmmakers need to write to their budgets. When he wrote El Mariachi, he had a bus, a guitar case, and a turtle, so he knew all of that would be in his movie. However, in 1994-1995, I saw this strategy used to its fullest by filmmakers B. Anthony Gibson, Jay Atkins, and Nathan Perry with their studio...

The final project of Playwriting class was to write our own one-act play, and I had something in particular that happened to me recently that I thought would make for a funny story... something very personal... Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, e...

After a decent (not great, but decent) first semester at Marymount Manhattan College, I went into the second semester feeling much more confident in myself. Thankfully, my first Playwriting class would be waiting for me. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, pod...

My senior year started with a journal that would be a very important factor in my life. That and the support and encouragement from my teacher. Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their journeys to personal success. It is very importa...

There was something special about getting back on the stage after a five-year hiatus with a sketch that I would wind up writing for myself. To this day, that laugh still gives me chills... Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics, musicians, voice artists, painters, podcasters, etc) to share their jou...