About Mike Phelan

Mike Phelan, Apr 2008

April 2008

Mike Phelan, Feb. 2008

Feb. 2007

Mike Phelan, Nov. 2004

Nov. 2004

Mike Phelan, Aug. 2002

Aug. 2002

Mike Phelan, Oct. 2000

Oct. 2000

Mike Phelan, May 1958

May 1958

About Mike Phelan
Who is this guy, anyway?

I was born in Dover NJ (USA) on March 31, 1958. If my epitaph were to be written today, it would say that I was an actor, playwright, father, husband, personal fitness trainer, bowler, musician, singer, songwriter, graphic artist, and businessman, in no particular order. I live in Sarasota FL.

First, an Actor ...

I was an actor before I was a playwright. I began acting in 1990, in community theatre in the Philadelphia area. Inasmuch as I consider myself a "playwright", acting was my first love. I've appeared in 20+ amateur productions at "legitimate" theatres, plus I've acted roles in several of my own short plays. My favorite roles include:

     - Felix Ungar in "The Odd Couple"

     - Oscar Madison in "The Odd Couple"

     - Polonius in "Hamlet"

     - Terrence O'Keefe in "Breaking Legs"

     - Charlie Cowell in "The Music Man"

I've also done some film work, but probably nothing you've ever heard about.

And Then a Playwright ...

I began writing short plays (a.k.a. "one acts" or "10-minute plays") in early 1998. Actually, I had begun to experiment with playwriting as early as 1994, but I didn't really produce anything decent until 1998. "Mom's Funeral" was the first short play that I began writing, but "Almost Crooks" was the first short play that I finished.

I think playwriting is way harder than acting. Real actors might disagree with me, but that's been my experience. To paraphrase Tom Edison, playwriting is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. To put it another way, playwriting is 10% writing and 90% rewriting.

Playwriting doesn't come easy to me. I have to work really hard at it. I think some people have great gifts and have to work just a little at them ... and other people have little gifts and have to work very hard to refine them. I fall into the latter category. I'm really envious of those for whom playwriting is easy, like a second nature. I would really love to bang out a play in 2-3 days and have it come out perfect.

Other Personal Stuff ...

My wife Judy is also an actor; in fact, we met onstage during a 1990 production of "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940". Judy is a much better actor than I am, actually. We have 3 grown sons: Kevin, Keith, and Kurt.

I graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1980. Imagine that, a playwright who graduated from West Point. I'm also a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and I work several days a week at the Sarasota YMCA, as a Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor.

Favorite pastime: bowling. I will bowl any time, any place. My high game is 276 and my high series is 704. I was actually on the bowling team in college. Right now, my average is around 192.

Musical pursuits: I play a little guitar, bass, and harmonica. I wrote a bunch of songs between 1975 and 1982, and some of them are actually not too bad. To date, I've recorded 2 CDs of my songs.

(You can get a sampler of my music at www.MySpace.com/phelanmike)

Favorite musical groups and musicians: the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Ramones, the Old 97s, the Doors, and early New Wave such as Devo, X, the Go-Go's, Wall of Voodoo, Kim Wilde, Blondie, The Cars, Pat Benatar, etc.

Favorite books: The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand), Dracula (Bram Stoker), Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy), Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger), and almost anything by Kurt Vonnegut.

Favorite films: King Kong (1933), The Ten Commandments (1956), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), A Mighty Wind (2003), Hell's Angels (1930), Waiting for Guffman (1997), Five Star Final (1931), Moby Dick (1956), Fargo (1994), and any Our Gang/Little Rascals short films made by Hal Roach studios during the 1932-1933 season. I have a passion for any film made before 1933.

I'm also a member of the Dramatists Guild. I think you already saw that, on the home page.

Thanks for visiting.