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I come from a family of storytellers.
My siblings, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins like nothing better than to regale each other with childhood memories, contemporary observations and sometimes just plain bullshit.
Listening to these marvelous stories as a child at family gatherings or in the car during one of our frequent cross-country trips helped forge my ear for distinctive narrative voices, strong story structures and resonant themes. Exactly what a playwright needs to hone his craft.
Rob Phelps
Another great source of inspiration comes from my partner, Rob Phelps. Rob came into my life almost a quarter of a century ago and I can't imagine life without him. He's twelve times more talented, creative and intelligent than I am. I'm hoping that somehow a shred of his gifts will someday rub off on me. I know that he made me a much more compassionate person. The heart and soul of my writing is because of him.
Lynda Sturner
Lynda Sturner doing just one of the things she does so well.
After I graduated from Brown University with an MA in Creative Writing, I stopped writing plays for almost ten years. I’m not sure exactly why this happened. Perhaps I was a little burnt out. Maybe I was just waiting to grow up enough to have something meaningful to say.
I didn’t seriously pick up the pen again until I around the time I met the woman you see on the right. Her name is Lynda Sturner and she is a piece of work. In the best of all possible ways.
Not only is Lynda a wonderful actress, director, teacher, and theater administrator, but she is one helluva fine playwright. She has the most magically intuitive approach to writing. Without her support and encouragement, I would not have written the nearly two dozen plays included on this site. Nor would I have collaborated on the two plays we wrote together: A Talented Woman and Super-Lubricated.
Education
Both these schools are quite wonderful. But the good people of my home state will always be in my heart.
Brown University
Master of Arts
Creative Writing
University of North Dakota
Bachelor of Arts
English / Creative Writing / Journalism / Theater