I grew up in Southern California, and somehow, neither learned to surf nor apply sunscreen – both things I regret to this day. Although I was initially delivered by an inebriated obstetrician, I have been reborn many times since. My second delivery was in the fourth grade, when a dear friend blackmailed me into auditioning for Charlotte’s Web. Templeton the Rat was typecasting, to be sure, but it was also the gateway into a life in Theatre, which has been the everlasting midwife to my creativity, in all its forms. In college, I was momentarily seduced by the siren song of Medicine, but the specter of 8am Chemistry classes muted that particular music, and I began a journey through International Relations, Russian Studies, and History – all passions, still – but I missed the challenge and adventure of Acting. My next birth was under the care of my college professor (now one of my dearest friends), who delivered me back into the world of Shakespeare, Shaw, Shepard, and everything in between. Unlike my first birth, I did not cry at this one, although many people who saw my early college performances may have done so; they have my sincerest apologies. My studies continued at the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington under Master Acting Teacher Jack Clay, who spoke so eloquently of the lyricism of text, that I was inspired to experiment in it myself. After a few years performing in tights and staring at Yoric’s skull, my first play was produced by Lillie Turner at the Westbeth Theatre Center, which served as the neonatal ward for my fourth birth, this time as a playwright. My fifth followed soon after, when I began writing with and for Joel Zwick, who taught me the difference between plays and screenplays, and why I was no good at either. It was the challenge of his life to improve my work, and the honor of mine to watch him do it. The belly of my career swelled again, and my sixth birth was upon me – this time as a University professor, which ultimately led to my most recent birth, and the one that brings you and I together.

You see, all the way back, nearly to the time of Templeton the Rat, I had an English Teacher (let’s call her, for the sake of anonymity The Dragon Lady). She placed a seed within me in her Craft of the Short Story class, and unlike most pregnancies, this one lasted over thirty years (imagine how many jars of pickles I consumed in the interim). This seventh birth was a return to what I had set out to do in the first place, that is, to become a novelist. I am a middle-aged newborn, to be sure, but now that my fanny has been well swatted and my eyes have opened, this world looks oh so beautiful to me.

If you have noticed a pattern in all this meshuggass, so have I. At every turn, I have been inspired by brilliant teachers – of acting, of writing (and through the tutelage of my wife, of love and commitment) – and those dear souls have delivered me so that I may deliver a story to you. If you enjoy my work, it is their glory. 

ANTIQUE is Seth’s first novel. His films Service to Man and The Coming are both distributed by Freestyle Entertainment Studios. His plays Dammit, Shakespeare!, Hell: Paradise Found (Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.), Alcestis Ascending, and Separate and Equal have all been produced Off Broadway. He is a Professor of Theatre and directs the MFA Acting Program at the University of Alabama. Far more importantly, he is married to Laura Earnest Panitch, who does not seem to mind when he creeps upstairs to write, or when he lets their dog Moses use him as a jungle gym. Seth is a proud member of the Author’s Guild, the Dramatists Guild of America, the Society of Directors and Choreographers, and the Illuminati – although he has steadfastly refused to have their name tattooed onto his chest.