Bryan Starchman

Activist, Concerned citizen, Consultant, Event planner, Foodie, Performer, Producer, Project manager, World traveler, Writer/Editor

Playwright BRYAN STARCHMAN grew up in the small foothill town of Mariposa, CA., just outside of Yosemite National Park. He began writing short stories in the first grade and fell in love with screenwriting in high school. Soon he tried his hand at playwriting. At UCLA, he spent four years honing his craft. There, he won the UCLA playwriting award for his satire on fraternity life. He worked as a script reader and production assistant at FOX studios for John Davis (Predator, Courage Under Fire, Grumpy Old Men, Dr. Doolittle), Bender/Spink (The Butterfly Effect, The Ring, A History of Violence) and STARZ (Spartacus, Magic City). Unfortunately Bryan and Los Angeles went together like Elizabeth Taylor and husbands -- it just wasn’t meant to be. Now he lives in Mariposa with his beautiful wife Noel (even a geek sometimes gets the girl!) and his cats, Wily and Pinkerton. He teaches American Literature, Advanced Placement Language, and Theatre at his old high school. His 18 published plays have been produced over 1300 times in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, 9 out of 10 Canadian Provinces (come on Prince Edward Island!) and six more countries including Mexico, England, Italy, Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Portugal. He has also collaborated with playwright and composer Stephen Murray to create the satirical "Just Another High School Musical." More information at www.bryanstarchman.com

Expressing myself and helping others express themselves through creative writing, performance, podcasting, graphic art, etc. I love to teach and more importantly I love to learn from my students.

The importance of allowing yourself to "play". There are many TED Talks that focus on how as adults our thought process changes, becomes more rational and in some cases less creative. By encouraging both young adults and full grown adults to play (be it on stage, writing something fictional just for the sake of expressing oneself, or picking up an instrument for the very first time) I believe that the gears start to turn in a different way. My thought processes are very different when I am allowed to play at school when producing, writing, or directing a show with my students for the simple sake of having fun, breaking free from how we are supposed to act in public, and trying to realize what it might be like to "walk in someone's shoes" as we play a character. The TED talk that I love sharing with my students (in all disciplines) is Charlie Todd's The Shared Experience of Absurdity.

College Planning, Comic artist, Creative writing (ficton and other), Education Consultant, Organizational leadership, Playwriting, Stage Production, Teaching Writing

TED was first introduced to me at one of the worst places in California: a teacher staff meeting. Luckily the admin at that time had just discovered the YouTube and would break up staff meetings with TED Talks. I went down the rabbit hole that is TED.com and now listen to the podcast, watch new talks weekly, and use the talks as a very important tool in my classroom to bridge fiction with reality. TED has inspired over 1000 of my students, from struggling freshmen watching a guy explain the placebo effect as he shoves a hatpin through his arm to AP Language Seniors who passionately debate the death penalty after watching David R. Row's passionate talk entitled "Lessons from Death Row Inmates". TED is a jumping off point for class discussions, a new perspective during a novel unit, or the final word after a debate about everything from plastic bags to the rights of the handicapped to how to wash your hands. I look forward to helping produce TEDxYosemite so I can add to my TED story

Writing comedic country songs. I grew up with spiked hair, dog chains, and studded leather jackets. But I also grew up listening to country music with my dad. I love singing my own country songs.