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This Fall I will be gaming for charity with team “Schell Games” through the Extra Life “Play Games, Heal Kids”  program, to benefit Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
“Do you want to play games and help a worthy cause? Then Extra Life may be for you. This gaming marathon takes place Oct 25 and 26, and benefits sick and injured children. We are a proud local supporter. Click to learn more.” – Schell Games

Finally the teaser video is up and I can show the internet what we have been working on! Check out “Super Smash Opera”, a performance/parody show I have been writing with fellow gamers and opera enthusiasts Liz Rishel, Sean Lenhart, James Newsome, Jesse Buddington and Marjorie Rishel. Our hope is to be accepted as a performance or panel for MAGFest 2015 (application pending!!!)
Ps: Extra thanks to Edwin Huang for helping us shoot the live trailer footage!

Dear World Boardgaming Championships. Thank you for existing, for happening immediately after a very long stressful crunch deadline at work, and for being scheduled at the same time as my wedding anniversary. The week was much needed, much enjoyed, and I had a blast competing this year. See you again in WBC 2015!

Had a nice time being part of the “Fannish Music Beyond Filk” panel at Confluence this morning with W Randy Hoffman and featured guest artist (and fellow game audio designer) W. Scott Snyder! Thanks to my fellow panelists and to those who came to hear us chat about music fandoms:)

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking on a panel, “Fannish Music Beyond Filk”, at Confluence – Pittsburgh’s Literary SciFi/Fantasy/Horror Conference on Saturday July 26th at 10am. Join us as we discuss how far fan music has come since the original ‘filk’ days, from Star Trekkin’ Across the Universe to Zombie Operas video game tributes and beyond! I will also be appearing that evening in the Parallax Second Players musical production “The Parallax Zone” at 7:45pm that same day (Sat the 26th).

Confluence is presented by PARSEC, a 501c3 non-profit organization promoting science fiction, fantasy and horror in literature, media and music for over 25 years in the Pittsburgh area.

EDIT: please note my panel time was changed, we are now at 10am this Saturday.

One of the games we developed at Schell Games for Amplify, “Inklings” also called “Ink Blot Underground,” was awarded a Gold Medal by the 2014 International Serious Play Awards last week! Go Team! Press Release and more info…

Evenings in Quarantine: The Zombie Opera, the multimedia/stage hybrid that I created with colleague Liz Rishel back in 2009, may be technically ‘dead’, but many members of the cast and crew keep running into each other! We have important roles to play in this weekend’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute by Undercroft Opera, both on stage and behind the scenes. For more details on Zopera in Mozart Land, check out our blog entry “Wild Creatures and the Forces of Darkness”. We have one more performance left, today at 2pm at the Antonian Theater. Don’t miss this classic Mozart opera, IN ENGLISH!!!

I’m super excited for Undercroft Opera’s production of  Mozart’s The Magic Flute opening a week from tomorrow (May 29th-June 1st at the Antonian Theater).  Rehearsals have been going splendidly music-wise, and as Creature Designer I’m happy to report that we’ve come a long way with Papageno’s flock of birds, the Giant Serpent and Animal masks and feet.  Continue reading →

Things have been exciting at my workplace, Schell Games, for the last couple weeks as we prepare to move into a bigger and more snazzy office in Station Square on Memorial Day weekend! Check out this article for more info about our new location.

Are you a fan of the music from Verdi’s famous opera Aida, but not a fan of how long it is (4 hours)? You’re in luck! This Sunday, April 13th, there is a FREE recital with Highlights from Verdi’s Aida, as part of the Chatham Vocal Recital Series starring soloists Marybeth Sederburg, Kelly Lynch, Robert Frankenberry, Milutin Lazich and Zachary Luchetti and I’m happy to be singing in the final scenes with a fabulous ensemble of men and women choristers.  The Highlights concert is ONLY 1.5 hours long, so join us this Sunday for some classic tunes and still be home in time for dinner:)