Degree secured! Two years, 11 months, and 22 days after I started classes at VHCC, I graduated from UVA with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa. I also earned the Corcoran Department of Philosophy’s Exemplary Award for exceptional academic performance, landing at a 3.94/4.0 gpa after all was said and done.

Those last three years have expanded my awareness and understanding of social and institutional power structures, added breadth and depth to the range of my writing and communication, and equipped me with a more robust ability to analyze and interpret the social, political, legal, and natural landscapes with which we interact every day.

Last fall, I focused largely on social structures: race, class, and politics. In the spring, I focused on reasoning: rationality, logical reasoning, behavioral science, and the foundations of public policy. This fall, I’m working on economic and legal structures: philosophy of economics, philosophical problems in law, and ethics.

I had an enlightening and unforgettable experience working for Habitat for Humanity here in Charlottesville this fall. This incredible team welcomed me in and unforgettably exposed me to the realities of the affordable housing crises here and across the country. The ambitious projects this affiliate has undertaken in both their building projects and their political advocacy—while unique to this area—highlight a path forward that I hope to rejoin someday.

I received my offer of admission from UVA last night! Exactly one year ago, I enrolled at VHCC intending to transfer to UVA. I made the honor roll each semester, earned induction to the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and the Sociedad Honoraria de la Lengua Española, and generally worked my tail off. This fall, I will transfer that work ethic to Charlottesville!

Back to school! I’ve always had a passion for advocating for others in my private life, for taking up their stories and relaying them to those with the power to correct whatever wrongs had been done. In recent years, that passion has crept into my professional life as well. Now, it’s clear that another path will allow me to pursue that work exclusively: law. And that’s where I’m headed, to lend a hand in defending and advancing the rights of others. Classes start today at VHCC!

Excited to announce that I’ll be joining several dear friends (and a few new ones!) to form a new company in Georgia called Newnan Shakes! We’re putting up an outdoor production of Midsummer in the park, right in the town of Newnan, about 45 minutes south of Atlanta. Growing my beard back to take on Theseus, Oberon and Snout in this new, six-person cut.

Check us out!
—> www.newnanshakes.com

We wrapped the 2017/2018 Encore Players tour today, closing our second production (the new musical Clementine by Catherine Bush and Dax Dupuy) after Hitting the road in February. Over 100 performances, more than 64,000 audience members served, and 20 states covered just since February. But I’m not unpacking my suitcase yet—there’s more to come!

Just capped off our 45-day holiday tour of Twas the Night Before Christmas with 55 performances and 31,082 audience members served. We quickly covered 9 states on this tour, from South Carolina to the Town Hall Theatre in NYC and dozens of cities in between.

Pound, VA • Big Stone Gap, VA • Pennington Gap, VA • Mountain City, TN • Clintwood, VA • Grundy, VA • Pineville, KY • Greeneville,  TN • Cheraw, SC • Gray, TN • Marion, VA • Clifton Forge, VA • Mahopac, NY • New York, NY • Hampstead, NY • Cedar Grove, NJ • Upper Darby, PA • Raleigh, NC • Hickory, NC • Greenville, SC • Charlotte, NC • Winston Salem, NC • Richlands, VA • Pennington Gap, VA • West Milford, NJ • Lodi, NJ • Montclair, NJ • Millburn, NJ • Bronx, NY • Jamaica, NY • Flushing, NY

Starting back very soon with the Encore Players to tour two shows from November 2017 to July 2018! But first, taking a personal tour around the Caribbean for eight days…we’ll call this one “self-produced.” See you in the fall!

“We speak in order to bring about a change. Silence frequently implies agreement. Speaking is an action; it is designed to have an effect.” Giles Block’s job title is Master of the Words for a reason. Exploring his wisdom as I work on Othello today.

Spending the New Year’s weekend in Colonial Williamsburg with my heart-holder! I did some reflective math for the new year: I’ve been part of over 1,300 performances of 42 productions in my last few years at Barter Theatre, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Here’s to 2016 and production #43, Othello, coming soon!

The Frosty tour came to an end in New York today. We managed to fit 43 performances into 6 weeks, traveling to 22 cities between the Northeast and Canada and serving 28,185 audience members.

I was gifted a free month between contracts, so I’ll be switching it up as Production Assistant on a jukebox show for two weeks and Stage Managing a playwriting/reading festival after that.

Closing my 27-month run as a Barter Player and opening a new chapter as an Encore Player! I’ll be touring Jack & the Beanstalk around the southeast, then the musical Frosty around the Northeast and Canada. Then it’s back to Virginia in January to open Othello.

Performing in the ensemble of Mary Poppins this summer, singing and dancing the parts of five different characters. I’m the one with the wild costume…not specific enough? Props to Howard  Kaplan for making us look fabulous!

The leaves are turning and the fall rep is underway! Performing as Matthew in Anne of Green Gables while on deck and understudying Sherlock Holmes in Hound of the Baskervilles. And rehearsal for tour has begun!

We were challenged by the American Shakespeare Center and we accepted! Here’s the video I created to spread the challenge.

Putting the summer rep to bed tonight.
95 performances of 5 productions in 3 months. That’s how you Barter. Now to a week’s vacation and then we start all over again! Magical.

First full day of staging for the new musical Winter Wheat by Catherine Bush & Ben Mackel! This and two more shows to get the entire summer rep on its feet!

Halfway through previews for Facility for Living and opening this Sunday, June 29th! Here is tonight’s “Saturday Intermission Pic” for BroadwayWorld.com. Caption: Getting pissed in A Facility for Living at Barter Theatre…once we find Wally’s Catheter bag!

Learned my casting for this summer: I’ll be Kevin in A Facility for Living and TBA in a two-week workshop run of the new musical Winter Wheat by Catherine Bush and Ben Mackel. Player shows with TBA casting: Jack & the Beanstalk, Bridge to Terabithia, Winnie the Pooh and Sleeping Beauty.

Happy Holidays from the Barter Players! Once the new year hits, we’ll be taking three shows on tour until April: Macbeth, Little House on the Prairie and The Emperor’s New Clothes, then back home to Barter HQ!

Opened Little House on the Prairie for a great audience this morning, then crossed the street for day two of Dial “M” for Murder  tech. The fall rep is nearly up and I’ve already got my script for ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, our holiday show.

REVIEW: “Sean Michael Flattery, a Barter newcomer with a relatively minor role as Brooke in Little Women but who is excellent in Walking Across Egypt (also playing now) brings a special look and talent to Barter this spring. Watch this guy — he has ‘great future’ written all over him.” –Robert McKinney, Bristol Herald Courier