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Mira studied writing at New York University, graduating with a BA in English Literature before pursuing a career in Media and Marketing with PARADE, Portfolio, AltDaily and skirt!. An avid journal writer and closet poet, Mira starts each morning with her journal and her yoga mat. This has made all the difference.
Classes taught: Journaling for Personal Development
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T Campbell has been an award-winning comics scriptwriter for nearly a decade, writing over 3000 pages of graphic novels, manga, comic strips and webcomics, both independently and with publishers like Tokyopop and Marvel—including titles such as Fans, Cool Cat Studio, Penny and Aggie, Divalicious, Sketchies, Rip and Teri, Exploding Stills, and other comics.
Classes taught: Writing Comic Books, Creating the Graphic Novel, Crosswords & Puzzles Seminar
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Ed Carden has a degree in theatre from Old Dominion University. He's been acting and performing comedy for more than a decade, and has appeared in nearly 30 local theatrical productions, as well as a handful of commercials and short films. He is a founding member of The Pushers Sketch/Improv Comedy Group, in which he serves as a performer, writer, and producer. With The Pushers, he has performed up and down the east coast. By day he works for Virginia Beach Public Schools. In addition to writing and performing, he enjoys cheeseburgers, sushi, and science fiction—not necessarily in that order.
Classes taught: Sketch Comedy Writing 101, Sketch Comedy Writing 202
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Leslie Clements recently graduated from Old Dominion University with a Master of Fine Arts in fiction. She served as a fiction editor for the first year of ODU’s premiere online literary journal, Barely South Review, and and writes for the Fiction Writer's Review. She is currently working on a new batch of short stories.
Classes taught: The Fiction Workshop.
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A professed grammar nerd, Linda is a retired high school teacher with an M.A. in communications. She sponsored Shore Lines, Bayside High's award-winning newsmagazine and taught advanced composition among other English electives. Linda has taught sessions at Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Virginia High School League conferences, Evenings at Saint Patrick and for ODU's Career Switcher Program. Linda has also done free-lance copyediting. She is writing a collection of short, true stories about her quirky Tennessee family and personal experiences.
Classes taught: A Grammar Refresher, Oral Interpretation: Public Reading for Writers.
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Tony is an MFA candidate on the fiction track at Old Dominion University. Before moving to Norfolk, he taught high school and college in Los Angeles.
Classes taught: The Fiction Workshop.
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Sean Devereux is the executive producer and co-head writer of the sketch comedy group, The Pushers. He graduated with a B.A. in English from George Mason University and has studied improv at The Upright Citizen's Brigade in New York. With The Pushers, he has performed up and down the east coast, most notably headlining The Charleston Comedy Festival and The North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. In his civilian guise, Sean is an Emmy Award winning writer/producer at WVEC-TV 13.
Classes taught: Improv Comedy 101, Improv Comedy 202, Improv Comedy 303, Sketch Comedy Writing 101, Sketch Comedy Writing 202, Improv Comedy Workshop for Teens.
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Lea Ann Douglas (Annie) is the author of many plays, including Alligator Mansion and The Neophyte. Her plays have been seen in Charlottesville, New York, Los Angeles, and London. Lea Ann has an MFA in playwriting from the University of Virginia and currently teaches English at Old Dominion University. She has also published numerous short stories, essays and a few poems. Her first book of poems, The Queen's Rune and Other Tales of the Sidhe was published in 2009 and she performs her peoms and stories in coffee shops, bars, and speakeasys across the East Coast.
Classes taught: Introduction to Playwriting, Introduction to Storytelling: Writing Myth and Folklore.
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Website: www.cruinnaiu.com.
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Gillian is an instructor of English as a Second Language at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, where she teaches all academic language skills but has a particular fondness for the wild complexities of English grammar. Once a world traveler, she now stays mostly in one place and instead enjoys playing host to the world in her classroom, which is sort of like traveling but much less expensive. She holds a B.A. in English from Elon University and a M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Old Dominion University. Oh, and the swooping, winged figure on the Muse homepage? That's Gillian.
Classes taught: Grammar Unveiled, English Grammar.
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Gregory Epps is a freelance journalist and 10-year veteran of weekly film criticism whose work has appeared in a variety of print and web publications. As critic and essayist for PortFolio Weekly, Greg published over 500 reviews, covered local film festivals, and interviewed A-list film directors and actors. Greg subsequently wrote and broadcasted weekly film reviews for Norfolk's public radio affiliate, WHRV-FM, as part of Cathy Lewis's award-winning HearSay program. Greg is currently writing for several freelance clients, has a novel in-progress, and still believes that all of life's riddles are answered, in the movies.
Classes taught: Film Criticism: The Craft and Business.
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Patrick Evans-Hylton is a banker-turned-Johnson & Wales trained chef. He has been an award-winning food writer since 1995, and is currently senior editor for food and wine at Hampton Roads Magazine. He is also executive editor for Virginia Wine Lover Magazine, and author of six books, including two food history books and a cookbook, Popcorn. Evans-Hylton appears monthly on a food news/issues-themed episode of HearSay with Cathy Lewis on 89.5 FM, public radio on Hampton Roads. He has made several national appearances on ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates, the Food Network and Martha Stewart Living radio. A food educator and historian, Evans-Hylton teaches a variety of classes with a local twist through the Casual Gourmet program at Culinary Institute of Virginia. He is a board member with Culinary Institute of Virginia, Tidewater Community College's culinary arts program, Careers through Culinary Arts Program—Hampton Roads, Hampton Roads March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction and Slow Food Hampton Roads. Nationally, he is involved with the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Evans-Hylton, a native of Atlanta, Ga., has lived in Virginia since 1991.
Classes taught: Writing Cookbooks, Expressions in Food.
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Food Blog: www.patrickevanshylton.com.
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Chad Faries has a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from UW-Milwaukee and has taught writing and literature in the United States and Europe. His poetic memoir, The Border Will Be Soon, was the winner of the 2006 Emergency Press book competition which went on to win the 2006 Gran Prix Prize for poetry from the International Academy Orient-Occident in Romania. His memoir, Some Houses, is seeking a commercial publisher. One of The Muse's most popular teachers, Chad recently moved to Savannah, Georgia where he is an Assistant Professor of English.
Classes taught: Photography & Writing Workshop, Memoir Writing Workshop.
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Website: www.afariestale.com.
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Tim Farrington is the author of a number of novels, including The Monk Upstairs, Lizzie's War, the NY Times Notable Book The Monk Downstairs, and Love in All the Wrong Places (as Frank Devlin). His short stories and essays have been published in ZYZZVA, The Sun, and San Francisco Magazine. He lives in Virginia Beach.
Classes taught: Introduction to Fiction Writing, The Fiction Workshop, The Fiction Studio, Fiction Workshop for Teen Writers, Meditation for Writers.
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Alan Flanders has an M.A. in English from Hollins College with an emphasis on Creative Writing, a Ph.D. and an advanced degree in English Local History from Oxford. He has also been a poetry and non-fiction contributor at the Breadloaf Writers Conference, Middlebury College. For the last 25 years he has written a column for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. Flanders also hosted Century, an Emmy award winning public television documentary on Hampton Roads history. His contributions to local and national television productions include serving as naval historian for a live CBS News broadcast worldwide of the JFK, Jr. burial at sea and numerous commentaries on local, regional and national history topics. He has published eight books and numerous articles in American Heritage, Gourmet, and American History Magazine.
Classes taught: Creative Non-Fiction Writing Workshop.
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Barbara Gardner, a native of Germany, loves poetry and people and is the former facilitator of the First Friday Poetry Salon. She feels equally at home in the US and Germany but also enjoyed very much living in the UK and Norway. Barbara has participated in several poetry workshops and hopes to someday publish a collection of her own work. She lives in Norfolk.
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Caroline S. Garrett's first picture book, Sarah's Bead, was published in 2000. Her second, Jeremiah, in 2003. She is the illustrator of a series of "Forest Friends" tales which were published between 2005 and 2007. She earned her MFA in printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and a second Masters degree in Art Education from Ohio State. She gives workshops in children's picture books, art and spirituality, and mandalas.
Classes taught: Young Writers Creative Workshop: Create your own Children's Picture Book.
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Colin is a published novelist, short-story writer, translator and visual artist from the UK. He has also lived in Marseille, Johannesburg, and Lisbon, and recently moved to downtown Norfolk from New York City. Creative writing is his life, and his love: his second novel, You Choose, is currently under review in Europe, and his most recent project, Swimming on the Edge Of, is awaiting review with agents in the US, upon completion. He is also to translate two recent novels by Irvine Welsh, Crime and If You Like School. You'll Love Work into Portuguese in 2009 and 2010.
Classes taught: Contemplating Your Novel, Fiction Workshop 2: Other Voices, Other Lives, LGBT Memories in Memoir, Completing the Great American Novel, Fiction One-on-One Workshop.
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Jennifer Lynn Graham earned a BA in Psychology from Virginia Wesleyan College in 2005 and will be earning an MFA in Creative Writing (poetry) from Old Dominion University in the Spring of 2012, when she will also earn a Literature Certificate. Her desire is to combine poetry and psychology together some day as a mode of therapy in her work. Jennifer recently published in RED OCHRE LiT, and in addition to writing, she enjoys reading, baking and movie-going in her spare time.
Classes taught: Reading for Writers: The Poem
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Lisa Hartz is a co-founder and co-director of The Muse Writers Center. She earned an MA in English Writing from Hollins College and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami, where she taught composition and creative writing. At The Muse, Lisa has lead workshops and studios in memoir/creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. Her work has appeared in poet lore, The GW Review, The Dos Passos Review, Bayou, miller's pond and other publications, and Lisa is also a freelance writer in history and the arts.
Classes taught: The Poetry Workshop, An Exploration of the Prose Poem, Exploring Visual Art Through Poetry, The Fiction Workshop, Memoir/Creative Non-Fiction Writing Workshop, The Memoir Studio, Open Studio, Young Writers Creative Workshop: Create your own Children's Picture Book.
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Caitlin Hayes holds an MA in English Literature from the University of New Hampshire and is in her third year of teaching English at Norfolk Academy. Before moving from New England to Virginia, she freelanced for two newspapers, worked in book design, and administered a writing center. She is a student in the MFA program at Old Dominion University, and in the fall, will enter the MFA program at Syracuse University where she will continue working on a collection of short stories.
Classes taught: Introduction to Fiction Writing, The Fiction Workshop.
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Patti Hinson holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from American University where her collection of personal essays, Pulls Like Gravity, was awarded the Myra Sklarew Prize for Outstanding Thesis. Her prose and poetry have been featured in a variety of venues, literary and otherwise, including past and current photography exhibits at The Mariners’ Museum.
Classes taught: Introduction to Writing Poetry, The Poetry Workshop, Personal Narratives: An Introduction to Memoir, Personal Narratives Workshop, Poetry Workshop for Teen Writers, Memoir Workshop for Teen Writers: Life Stories
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Rick Hite is Professor Emeritus of Theater/Communications at Virginia Wesleyan College. He holds degrees from Dartmouth College (B.A. Spanish), The Johns Hopkins University (M.A. Romance Languages and Literatures), and Michigan State University (Ph.D. Theater/Communications). His theater career as actor, director, producer, translator, and playwright spans more years than he wants to admit. He has published plays, translations, and poetry in the U. S. and Spain and has had works produced both here and abroad.
Classes taught: Introduction to Playwriting.
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Lauren Hurston received her BA in English from James Madison University, her MA in English and Publishing from Rosemont College, and she is pursuing her Creative Writing MFA from Old Dominion University. She has contributed to Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, VA, Ticket Weekly in Montgomery County, PA, and Philadelphia Style Magazine. Her fiction has been published in Midwest Literary Magazine and is featured in the anthology Bearing North; her nonfiction has won the William Brenner Nonfiction Prize and the Agnes L. Braganza Award.
Classes taught: Fiction Workshop for Teen Writers.
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Matthew Hutchinson is the president of Miravalles Culture and Adventure Center, a tour center located in the rainforest of northern Costa Rica, that specializes in Eco-tourism and cultural exchange for students and small groups of adventurers. He founded and runs UrbanXChange, a chain of retail stores and tattoo shops in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Newport News. He received degrees in Journalism and Latin American Literature from UW-Madison, and he studied in Lima Peru (1988–89) and worked in Managua and Esteli, Nicaragua (1986–87). In 1990 and 1991, he taught with Teach for America in the ESL programs at Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles and Park West in New York City. He's a musician and singer-songwriter who performs at open mics in the area, and is currently working on the second draft of his novel, Sandino's Bones and milling about Ghent at any pub that serves O'Connor's new IPA, el Guapo. He is a facilitator of The Muse Writers Center's 4th Friday Acoustic Jam.
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Luisa Igloria is the author of Juan Luna's Revolver (2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize, University of Notre Dame), Trill & Mordent (WordTech Editions, 2005), and eight other books. Luisa has degrees from the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was a Fulbright Fellow from 1992-1995. She teaches on the faculty of Old Dominion University, where she directs the MFA Creative Writing Program. Lately, she has been writing a poem a day at Dave Bonta's The Morning Porch; the poems are archived at Via Negativa.
Classes taught: A Little Fire, A Little Salt, A Little Need: Transformations in the Poem, Here and in the World: Writing Poetry About Inner and External Landscapes.
Website: www.luisaigloria.com.
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Luke Iha is an un-schooling seventeen year-old whose interests include philosophy, psychology, and—of course—writing. He has worked on the KUNM Generation Justice Youth radio program as a host and DJ and has volunteered with the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. As the Muse's second intern, Luke has become a notable expert in promotional fliering, and after completing his internship, he hopes to travel and further pursue his literary career.
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Jennifer James has been an avid reader and a writer for many years. After graduating from The College of William and Mary in 1989 with a BA in English, she dabbled in Montessori education and other professional experiments. Jennifer began taking classes at The Muse Writers Center in 2010 and has been an enthusiastic student and supporter ever since. The Writers Coffee Break is an attempt to unite socially-inclined writers who find it easier to gather by day than by night, and who claim coffee as their inspirational drug of choice.
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Born in New Jersey, Victoria Kelly received her B.A. in English from Harvard and her M.Phil. in Creative Writing from Trinity College Dublin, where she was a U.S. Mitchell Scholar. She earned her M.F.A. in Fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she worked with writers such as Marilynne Robinson, James Alan McPherson, and Kevin Brockmeier. Her stories have been published in Colorado Review, Fiction, and The Greensboro Review, among others. She currently teaches at Old Dominion University.
Classes taught: Flash Fiction Workshop.
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Tori Kerr studies English and Creative Writing at The George Washington University, where she is a rising sophomore. As The Muse Writers Center's first intern, Tori has assisted in all areas of operations from publicity and promotions to outreach and fundraising. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career as a writer, editor, and teacher.
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Once one of the world's premier primate behavioral scientists, Michael abandoned his award-winning work with monkeys after a slight incident in the lab for a new career in the entertainment industry. After directing a series of films (each one, inexplicably, in Spanish with German subtitles) and writing a well received coffee table book about hats, he decided to devote his creative energies to writing poetry about outhouses in southeastern West Virginia. Say What?
Classes taught: Introduction to Writing Poetry, The Poetry Workshop, The Poetry Studio, Introduction to Fiction Writing, The Fiction Workshop, The Fiction Studio.
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Janine Latus is the award-winning author of If I Am Missing or Dead, a memoir that made both the New York and London Times bestseller lists and which was written scene-by-scene in workshops just like the one she’s teaching at the Muse. She has taught writing across the country, including at the University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin and East Carolina University. She has written for O, the Oprah magazine, Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Parents, Attache, American Way and many other magazines and websites. She currently is fishing around for her next book idea.
Classes taught: Write Now, Writing from Life, The Memoir Studio, Writing from Life for Teens, Freestyle Writing for Young Writers.
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Tracie Liguid is studying to become an elementary school teacher through the ODU Career Switchers program. A former producer for HamptonRoads.com and Pilot Online, she was a coordinator and chapter writer for the oral history project, "In Our Aunties' Words: The Filipino Spirit of Hampton Roads" by the Filipino American National Historical Society. The James Madison University grad loves the beach, yoga, and pralines & cream ice cream. Tracie has loved writing since she began reading Peanuts, Archie, and Betty & Veronica comics and the Choose Your Own Adventure and Encyclopedia Brown children's book series.
Classes taught: Young Writers Workshop, Writing the Filipino American Experience, Writing in Response to the Filipino American Experience.
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Michal Mahgerefteh is an award-winning poet and artist from Israel, living in Virginia since 1986. She is publisher and editor of Poetica Magazine and the author
of three poetry collections, In My Bustan, Sipping Memories: A Poetic Journal to Morocco, and What's Left Behind. Michal is the webmaster and contest judge for The Poetry Society of Virginia. She is currently working on her forth poetry collection and is a co-host of The Muse's Writers' Coffee Break at Elliot's.
Classes taught: Collage: Visual Art for Writers.
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Website: www.michalmahgerefteh.com.
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Deb Markham works as an online community producer (online speak for "editor") for HamptonRoads.com and PilotOnline.com, where she manages about 35 community bloggers. She also has built and maintained several Websites in her spare time over the years. She is in the midst of redesigning The Ghent Reader, an online literary magazine founded in 2002. You can follow her and her personal musings via DebMarkham.com. Join her as she hosts the Muse's First Friday Poetry Salon.
Classes taught: Introduction to Blogging & Social Networking for Writers.
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Karla Martin is a teacher, writer, and journalist. She is a former producer of radio and television programs at WHRO/WHRV, the PBS/NPR station in Norfolk, as well as WAVY-TV and WVEC-TV. Karla is a graduate of The Ohio State University's School of Journalism and a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Karla has written articles for several publications. She is the co-author of the children's book, Logan's Journey (Dove Foundation Seal, Mom's Choice Awards; Gold Recipient, Book Sense Children's Pick). Karla lives in Chesapeake with her family and is now fulfilling her dream of teaching English. A graduate of the ODU Career Switchers Program, Karla currently teaches English at Oscar Smith Middle School.
Classes taught: Writing Children's Literature, Children's Picture Book Writing Workshop, Young Writers Creative Workshop: Create your own Children's Picture Book.
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Claudia Isler Mazur earned an MA in English from Bucknell University in 2004 and an MFA from Old Dominion University in May 2011. She has written and published both short fiction and nonfiction, and has been teaching writing since the early 1990s. She is a lecturer in the English department at Old Dominion University as well as a freelance copy editor.
Classes taught: Writing Personal Narratives, Personal Narratives: An Introduction to Memoir.
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Abbie McGee recieved a B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Old Dominion University in 1984. She currently teaches English 12 and Advanced Placement Literature and Composition at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach. Her passions include writing, her children, swimming, music, and the Boston Red Sox. Her favorite poets include Marianne Moore, Billy Collins, Byron, Elizabeth Bishop, and Sylvia Plath, among others. "All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath." —F. Scott Fitzgerald
Classes taught: Introduction to Writing Poetry.
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Lewis McGehee, a Richmond VA native, graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in Philosophy. Later, while performing in New York's Greenwich Village, Lewis was "discovered" by Terry Cashman and Tommy West (Jim Croce's producers). Lewis' debut album on Lifesong Records was released worldwide.
Voted "Best Musician" and a top acoustic act by various publications, including Port Folio Weekly, Hampton Roads Magazine, and 9Volt, he gained much experience touring with such artists as Ry Cooder, Neil Sedaka, and Al Stewart. On the strength of his live shows, McGehee went on to perform with many national acts such as John Prine, Robert Palmer, Talking Heads, Christopher Cross, and Christine McVie. Lewis also completed a 15-city tour as an opening act for Bruce Hornsby.
McGehee has extensive experience in the recording studio as a session guitarist and vocalist, as well as composing, producing and performing on many regional radio and television commercials, and his aggressive approach to acoustic guitar has made him a prominent force in the Virginia music scene. He has composed more than 200 songs and has been teaching guitar and personal composition in the Hampton Roads area for more than 25 years.
Classes taught: Introduction to Songwriting.
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Website: www.lewismcgehee.com.
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Brad McMurran is the founder, co-head writer, and performer in the sketch/improvisation group, The Pushers. He studied long form improvisation at the heralded Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City and studied history and acting at Old Dominion University. McMurran and The Pushers have performed all up and down the east coast, and have headlined numerous comedy festivals, most notably The Charleston Comedy Festival and The North Carolina Comedy Festival. He has acted in numerous plays, done stand up comedy, and will be starring in a one man show touring across America this winter. He likes pizza and describes himself as "adorable and pudgy."
Classes taught: Improv Comedy 101, Improv Comedy 202, Improv Comedy 303, Sketch Comedy Writing 101, Sketch Comedy Writing 202, Improv Comedy Workshop for Teens.
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Michael Stephen Myers' works generally revolves around man's continual struggle against inflexible systems that always seem to be in command of our lives. Most of his plays are influenced by his experience in Vietnam. A Healing of War won six awards at the Smithfield, Virginia One-Act Play Festival Competition for 2008 and included Best Play and the Audience Choice—Best Play award. A Father's Legacy and The Bungalow at the Beach also won a total of seven awards in 2009 at the same festival. In April, 2011, Michael's play, Think Twice opens in Durban, South Africa. Michael will also have two plays opening in Texas in November.
Classes taught: Playwriting.
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Website: www.ahealingofwar.com.
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Jim Morrison has flown barrel rolls with the Navy's Blue Angels (he didn't barf), climbed and slept overnight in a 243-foot-tall redwood (he didn't fall), and gone one-on-one with Muhammad Ali (he didn't flinch). His award-winning stories have appeared in Smithsonian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Private Clubs, This Old House, National Wildlife, and numerous others. He has a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and has taught numerous seminars on journalism. He is the past president of The American Society of Journalists and Authors, a trade association of 1,300 freelance writers.
Classes taught: Breaking Into Magazine Writing, Narrative Travel Writing, Business of Writing Seminar.
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Website: www.jmwriter.com.
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Andrea J. Nolan is the author of Sea Kayaking Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and Sea Kayaking Virginia. She has a MFA in fiction from Old Dominion University, and has fiction and essays published in journals such as Flyway, Dogwood, Alligator Juniperthe Potomac Review. Her essay, "Edges," was acknowledged as a "Notable Essay" in Best American Essays 2009 and is being reprinted in the Potomac Review's 50th anniversary issue, "Best of 50." She teaches at Old Dominion University.
Classes taught: Reading for Writers: The Short Story, Reading for Writers: The Novel, The Fiction Workshop, Writing the Wild.
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Daniel Pearlman Pravda was born in Norfolk and raised in Virginia Beach. He blossomed into an English major at the University of Maryland and did his M.F.A. in poetry at George Mason. His concentration in poetry has seeped into other genres such as fiction and music. His work, published in numerous journals, including The Washington Review, Phoebe, Grasslands Review, Poet's Domain, Beltway, and others, shows attention to small detail from natural to urban settings. He was interviewed on NPR's "With Good Reason" in June 2006 as part of their Virginia Poets series. He has taught English and Creative Writing at Norfolk State University since 1996.
Classes taught: The Poetry Workshop, Craft of Poetry, Poetry Vice: A Workshop.
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Creative Producer, Ken Phillips, has 25 years experience in the film and television industry as well as a successful track record in advertising, marketing, and promotions from New York to Los Angeles.
A graduate of James Madison University with a degree in film, radio, and television, Ken worked in radio and TV for several years as a writer, producer, videographer, editor, and talent. In 1984, Ken co-founded the Comedy Zone, which grew to be one of the largest comedy club circuits in North America as well as a talent agency for colleges and corporations from coast to coast. Aside from marketing, branding, and selling the Comedy Zone franchise and booking talent, Ken also promoted major concerts with top stars including: Jerry Seinfeld, David Copperfield, Sam Kinison, Ron White, Ellen DeGeneras, Carrot Top, Rodney Carrington, Sinbad, Paul Reiser, Drew Carey, Brian Regan, Louie Anderson, Phyllis Diller, Pat Paulson, Gallagher, Rich Hall, Emo Phillips, and many more.
Along with partner Brad Greenberg, Ken took charge of a promising young comedian with the unlikely name of Carrot Top. Under their guidance, Carrot Top went from club performer to national concert act in a very short time. Ken booked Carrot Top on every major comedy TV show in the country including NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno; ABC's Arsenio Hall Show, Regis and Kathy Lee, and America's Super Showcase; A&E's Evening at the Improv and Comedy on the Road; FOX's Comic Strip Live and Sunday Comics; Showtime's Jonathan Winter's Special and Comedy Club Network; and MTV's Half Hour Comedy Show. Ken was instrumental in a Simon & Schuster book deal entitled Junk in a Trunk and produced Carrot Top's first long-form video of his live show, Twist Ties and Duct Tape.
Ken's film and television credits include: Co-Executive Producer for the Trimark Pictures Chairman of the Board; Producer for AM Mayham on the Cartoon Network, Co-Creator, Writer, Producer for So You Think You're Funny a TV pilot sold to Team Entertainment; In My House with Kevin Meaney a pilot sold to GRB Entertainment; and Banana Skins, pilot sold to TVD Productions; and Segment Producer for the Donnie and Marie Show.
Classes taught: Standup Comedy 101, Standup Comedy 202, Standup Comedy 303.
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Websites: www.comedycoachworkshop.com, www.comedyfactorynetwork.com.
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Tench Phillips is co-owner and ticket taker at the Naro Cinema.
Classes taught: Beyond Theism and Atheism.
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Noah Renn received an MFA in Creative Writing from ODU in May 2011. His poetry has been published in several literary journals, including North Central Review and Blue Collar Review. Recently he has contributed to The Virginian-Pilot and AltDaily.com. He is currently an adjunct professor of English at ODU.
Classes taught: Introduction to Writing Poetry, The Poetry Workshop, Poetry Workshop for Teen Writers.
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For 10 years, Tom Robotham was the editor-in-chief of Port Folio Weekly—he now works as a freelance writer and serves as an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University. His weekly column, "Editor's Notebook," (available on his website: www.tomrobotham.com) frequently explores spiritual themes. Before moving to Hampton Roads, Tom worked as a freelance writer, book packager and video producer. During this period, he wrote several books on American history and culture and produced a companion volume to the A&E television series Charlton Heston presents the Bible. He holds a B.A. in English from the State University of New York, Plattsburgh and an M.A. in American Studies from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is currently at work on a book about Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Classes taught: The Riches of Everyday Life: A Memoir Workshop, Spiritual Writing Workshop, The Art of the Essay, American Essays: Writing in Response to Norman Rockwell, Literary Nonfiction Workshop, The Language of Love, Nature Writing, Journalism for Teens.
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Websites: www.tomrobotham.com, www.thetreehousemagazine.com.
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Steve Rosenthal has recently retired from teaching sociology at Hampton University. He is an avowed atheist and Marxist. He and his wife Mimi have directed the Hampton Roads Chapter of Amnesty International.
Classes taught: Beyond Theism and Atheism.
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Tony Ruggiero is best known for his dark fantasy thrillers about vampires being used by the US military. Ground breaking and fast paced, the novels are a characteristic mixture of the vampire lore of Anne Rice and the clandestine secrets of the military found in Tom Clancy novels. The concept led to a series of books released in 2006 through 2010, labeled the Team of Darkness Declassified Files. The books include: Operation Immortal Servitude, Operation Save the Innocent, Operation Face the Fear, and Operation Endgame.
A longtime favorite for Tony is the old style of "space opera" (character rather than technology oriented) type stories which is the center of his two book series: Alien Deception and Alien Revelation. The series deals with an alien organization that has infiltrated the American political system. The series runs the gauntlet from humorous and light hearted to deadly serious as a young man and woman search for answers.
Short stories are also a big favorite and in Aliens and Satanic Creatures Wanted: Humans Need Not Apply, Tony has a collection where the center character is not human. It includes his award winning story, "Lucky Lucifer's Car Emporium," as well as "Electronic Bliss," "Invasion or Subversion," and "Going up?"
Tony retired from the United States Navy in 2001 after twenty-three years of service. He and his family currently reside in Portsmouth, Virginia. While continuing to write, Tony teaches at Old Dominion University, Saint Leo University, Tidewater Community College, and The Muse Writers Center in Norfolk, VA
Classes taught: Writing Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror.
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Website: www.tonyruggiero.com.
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Rich Santoro is an award-winning journalist and video producer. Most recently, he worked as a scriptwriter and producer for the Christian Broadcasting Network while completing a fiction novel. His independent documentary, After the Cloud Lifted, aired on PBS stations across the country and won a first place award at the Chicago International Film Festival. While living in Hiroshima, Japan, he had a short story published in Japanophile magazine. His diverse communications background includes teaching public speaking at Tidewater Community College, newspaper reporting, direct marketing, industrial training and technical writing, and teaching ESL. He received his Masters degree in Communication at Regent University.
Classes taught: Introduction to Fiction Writing.
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Kathy Sarosdy received her degree in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis from Old Dominion University in 1985. While in school, she edited the student literary magazine, Dominion Review, for two years. She has worked as an administrative assistant for a plastic surgeon, an editor for an engineering firm, and a teacher for Virginia Beach Public Schools. She currently teaches Advanced Placement English Language and Composition, an analytical writing course, to eleventh graders, and serves as Chair of the English Department at Kellam High School. She subscribes to Emily Dickinson's definition of poetry: "If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry." Her favorite poems include Yeats' "Lapis Lazuli," Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 29," Mary Oliver’s "When Death Comes," and Tony Hoagland's "America."
Classes taught: Introduction to Writing Poetry.
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Jesse Scaccia is the editor of the Hampton Road's alternative news and culture web magazine, AltDaily.com. His journalism has been published in various periodicals, including The New York Times, The Virginian-Pilot, and The San Diego Union-Tribune. He also developed, pitched, and produced a documentary series for B.E.T.
Classes taught: Writing About Local Culture, Writing Your Personal Narrative, Journalism 101.
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Gregory Schneider has been teaching composition and literature at Old Dominion University for four years, where he received his Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. His latest story, "The Theft of the Magi" was published in The Drill Press's Big Stupid Review last October. His most recent story "Late Stories" was the subject of discussion in Professor Elizabeth Vincelette's "Digging the Past" course at ODU where he spoke as a guest. In 2008, he was invited to speak and provide a workshop for Christopher Newport University's Writer's Conference. He is working exclusively on short fiction.
Classes taught: Short Story Workshop, Short Story Studio.
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Tim Seibles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955. He is the author of several books
of poems including Hurdy-Gurdy; Hammerlock; and, most recently, Buffalo Head Solos. He is a former National Endowment for the Arts fellow and has been a writing fellow at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center in Massachusetts. Seibles also received an Open Voice Award from the 63rd Street Y in New York City. His work has been featured in anthologies such as Manthology; Rainbow Darkness; Evensong; The Autumn House Anthology; and, Under the Rock Umbrella. He has been a workshop leader for Cave Canem and for the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation. Tim is visiting faculty for the University of Southern Maine's low-residential Stonecoast MFA Program. His home is in Norfolk, Virginia where, as an associate professor of English, he teaches in Old Dominion University's English Department and MFA in writing program.
Classes taught: The Persona Poem: A Poetry Workshop, Weekend Intensive Poetry Workshop: Remembering to Remember.
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Dana Staves is a recent graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at Old Dominion University, where she studied fiction. She now teaches writing at Old Dominion University and The Muse Writers Center. She writes a weekly food column called "How I Spent My CSAcation" for AltDaily, where she also serves as a food editor. Her work has appeared in The Virginian-Pilot, Fiction Writers' Review, and her first short story publication is forthcoming in Shaking Like a Mountain.
Classes taught: Introduction to Fiction Writing, Flash Fiction Workshop, Whisks and Words: Food Writing 101.
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Melissa M. Stewart has served as editor-in-chief of Hampton Roads Magazine for more than five years and Virginia Wine Lover magazine for the past two years. She also helps develop and update ancillary publications such as HRM Bride, the HRM Beauty Book and HRM PrimeTime. After earning degrees in magazine journalism and English and textual studies from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, she worked as a reporter, lifestyle editor and magazine/special sections editor for a New Jersey newspaper group and also a freelance writer before moving to Hampton Roads in 2005. She quickly learned to embrace her new Southern surroundings and is now proud to be a Virginian (Jersey does get a bad rap, after all). When she’s not on deadline in her Virginia Beach office, she likes to spend time wine tasting (research!), tending to her community garden plot, trying to re-create haute cuisine at home with her husband, and fixing up her house in Norfolk's Colonial Place.
Classes taught: Introduction to Magazine Writing.
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Lisa Suhay is the author of eight books for children, including fables, picture books and a work that has become an internationally performed symphony (ala Peter and the Wolf). She is the author and publisher of the Norfolk mermaid book series as well as a veteran journalist whose commentaries appear regularly in The Virginian-Pilot and Christian Science Monitor.
Classes taught: Writing Children's Literature.
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Website: www.lisasuhay.com.
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Michael Tarpey is an instructor of philosophy at the Norfolk and Chesapeake campuses of Tidewater Community College. He regularly teaches introductory courses in general philosophy, logic, ethics, and religion, and his main academic interests include metaphysics, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of culture.
Classes taught: Beyond Theism and Atheism.
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Grace Tazewell lives in the Ghent area of Norfolk. She sometimes writes poetry, and writes a blog for Pilotonline.com. Grace works as a conflict mediator in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Norfolk, and occasionally teaches a Dreams and Meditation class at the Cayce Reilly Massage School. When she's not working, she travels to the Arctic Circle in winter to indulge her love of beautiful scenery and cold, cold weather. But mostly she just likes getting together with intelligent and creative people and sharing ideas and the beauty of writing, which is what she does as one of the hosts of the Muse's First Friday Poetry Salon.
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Mae Lynn earned her MFA from ODU with a concentration in poetry studying with The Muse's own Tim Seibles. In 2002 she was awarded Honorable Mention in the Non-rhyming Poem category by Writer's Digest Magazine in a contest hosted by Robert Pinsky that received over 19,000 entries. More recently, she was awarded first place in The Barbara Dunn Hartin Memorial Poetry Prize and first place in The Hampton Roads Writers Nonfiction Prize. Mae Lynn has taught Literature and Women's Studies at Tidewater Community College. Currently, she works full time and is raising two young boys. She still finds time to blog, write poetry and fiction, and work on a YA novel—the first chapter received the Edith Thompson Award for Juvenile Fiction. The manuscript is now with an agent.
Classes taught: Young Adult Fiction Workshop, Open Studio.
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Blog: www.maelynnwalker.blogspot.com.
Follow Mae Lynn on Twitter @ml_walker, where she tweets her daily word count.
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Kip Watson is a Tidewater native who picked up his first movie camera at age 15. In 1984, he attended VCU in Richmond where he earned a B.A. in filmmaking and film history. His senior project was a music video airing on MTV's 120 minutes. Kip worked on many feature films shot regionally and was involved in local television. He studied feature screenwriting at Regent University in the early 90's. From 1999 to 2003, Kip worked in Los Angeles as a script reader for independent producers and as a creative executive. He has written 5 scripts and was a finalist in Paramount Studios' prestigious Chesterfield Screenwriting competition. While in Los Angeles he studied with industry guru Michael Hauge and read hundreds of screenplays for consideration. IFC West (now Film Independent) hired him to cover scripts for their screenwriting and directing labs. Since returning to Norfolk, Kip has produced, shot and appeared in many commercials and infomercials. Currently he freelances as a script doctor and story developer. Kip also recently became licensed by the Darden School of Education to teach elementary school, and hopes to teach the next generation the value of storytelling.
Classes taught: Screenwriting 101, Screenwriting 202, Screenplay Consultation and Coaching, Screenwriting One-on-One
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Mary Westbrook earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Old Dominion University in May 2010. She was a contributor at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in the summer of 2009 and served as the director of Old Dominion University's Writers in Community program from 2009 to 2010. She is working on a collection of short stories.
Classes taught: Introduction to Fiction Writing, The Fiction Workshop.
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Before settling in Norfolk with his wife, Roberto Westbrook worked as a photographer in Washington DC and then Buenos Aires, Argentina. His photographs of South America have been exhibited at the American Embassy in Lima, Peru and at the University of Florida. Roberto has been published in National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Time, The New York Times and others.
Classes taught: Introduction to Photography: Learning to See, Intermediate Photography: Staying Motivated, The Photography Studio.
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Website: robertowestbrook.com.
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Leona Wisoker's work is fueled by coffee and conviction, and has appeared in such diverse outlets as Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Futures: Fire to Fly, Anotherealm.com, and more. Her debut novel, Secrets of the Sands, and its followup, Guardians of the Desert, both set in a wholly fictional world, have gathered critical praise for the strong characters, compelling prose, and intricate worldbuilding.
Classes taught: World Building Seminar.
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Website: www.leonawisoker.com.
Blog: The Writing of a Wisoker on the Loose.
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