A 1999 graduate of ASU with a B.A. in Theatre Acting Emphasis, Ben has acted and designed sound for many plays in the Valley, and in Dublin, Ireland. Ben had worked with Ron for years before founding Stray Cat -- from ASU (Terminal Bar - Dwayne, sound) to Planet Earth (Shopping and Fucking - Mark, sound; Polaroid Stories - sound), back to ASU (Electropuss - sound), and a few places in between (Closer with The Upstairs Theatre Company - Dan, sound; Pterodactyls with InMixed Company - sound).
In addition to integral behind-the-scenes involvement in each Stray Cat production, Ben designed sound for nearly all of Stray Cat's productions through 2009 and acted in The Laramie Project, Hysteric Studs, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, A Number, and the 08-09 season opener Everything Will Be Different.
Professional sound designs in Phoenix include Arsenic and Old Lace for Victoria Holloway and Rumors for Graham Whitehead at Phoenix Theatre; The Real Thing, Augusta, The Pursuit of Happiness, A View of the Harbor and boom for Actors Theatre; and several others for Childsplay, Arizona State University, and Theater Works.
As of July, 2010 -- after nearly a decade of devotion to Stray Cat -- Ben has stepped down from his roles in the company to pursue new opportunities in SoCal with his wife Amanda (and not-so-stray cat Finn) as an IT Systems Engineer with Edwards Lifesciences, a top innovator in cardiovascular medical devices.
Just keep an eye out, and you can still spot him prowling the alley as an audience member every now and then.