My creative journey began many years ago when decided I wanted to be an actor. I sought out Lee Strasberg and studied with him for years at The Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in New York City. After Lee, I studied with William Greaves. Bill took a personal interest in me in my development as an actor. He became my mentor and a close and trusted friend and had these kind words to say about me: “Pat is one of the most talented actors I’ve come across in years — and I’ve seen thousands as an acting teacher for Lee Strasberg — Pat could very well become the next Pacino or De Niro.”
During this period, I was invited by Lee Strasberg to become part of The Actors Studio community and I have been associated with The Studio since 1979 – first as an actor – and later as I moved on to become a writer, director and coach… as member of the prestigious Playwright/Directors Unit.
As an actor, I co-starred in the soap opera Santa Barbara, was featured in films such as Who Done It to Whom, and Norman Rockwell’s America. On stage, I starred in productions of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, A View from the Bridge, The Glass Menagerie, and Death of a Salesman.
As a writer, I wrote jokes for Tim Allen, sketches for In Living Color, and scripts for As the World Turns and Seinfeld. One of the plays I wrote, Mind Games, was performed at The Actors Studio and the Ensemble Studio Theatre. It is scheduled for production Off-Broadway in 2016 by The Prism Theater.
As a director, I directed critically acclaimed productions of Oleanna, The Unexpected Man, and The Faith Healer. The Advocate Newspaper in Williamstown, MA put me on its’ list of “Best Directors” for Oleanna in 2000. That same year, Gwyneth Paltrow was put on their list of “Best Actresses” for her work in As You Like It at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
As a Creativity Coach, I’ve worked with professional singers, dancers, actors, writers, cartoonists, painters and sculptors along with business executives, clergy, entrepreneurs, therapists and politicians. Also, I’ve been awarded five Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants. As a result of these, I’ve coached the ballerinas of the Albany Berkshire Ballet, the poets and fiction writers of The Berkshire Writers Room.
Lastly, for the past 20 years I have trained and coached actors in New York and Los Angeles. I am presently on the faculty and teaching acting and directing at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in Los Angeles.