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Seattle, WA born native- and raising hell ever since… Jay started his acting training at the Directors Studio in downtown Seattle during the winter of 1991. Jay worked under the guidance of Writer, Director, and Acting Coach Earl Kelly. Jay auditioned for Scholarships through the Directors Studio, which took him to New York on several occasions to go through intensive training in theater, film/TV, voice, arts, and humanities. (Scholarships funded by the Whitney Foundation at Columbia University in New York) In 1995 Jay switched gears and focused soley on becoming a "Film" actor. After he played a role in a local independent movie, Jay found out that the Screenwriter, Director, and Filmaker Colleen Patrick specialized in coaching actors for On Camera performances only. Jay immediately made a commitment to working with Colleen so he could develop his screen acting abilities. Later , Jay began to gain interest in screenwriting and directing in order to become a better film actor. Since his then acting coach Colleen Patrick was already a Screenwriter and Director, it was the perfect opportunity. Jays coach brought him along to attend a few meetings with her Literary Agent so he could get an inside look to the business end of being a professional screenwriter. This was also Jays introduction to Hollywood North- Vancouver, Canada. From there, Jay made many trips to Canada; getting new headshots, meeting with casting directors, visiting MGM, Northridge, and other studios to audition for roles in movies and tv shows such as The Outer Limits, Stargate, and The X-Files. Jay also took a screenwriting class at Simon Frasier University in Vancouver, Canada. From Canada, to Los Angeles, and back to Seattle: Over the next few years Jay spent quite a bit of time bouncing back and forth from Seattle to Southern California. When in Seattle, he would work intermittently as a casting assistant directing other actors in on camera auditions for casting director Steve Salamunovich. While in L.A. he scoped out the lay of the land, made friends, networked, and surfed. In the Fall of 1999 Jay sold his '69 Camaro RS convertible and flew down to L.A. with the intentions to find a place to live in Hermosa Beach. He found a place to live on the strand, but decided it was not the time for him to make the move. He returned to Seattle, took over a year off from acting and pursued other interests like motocross and car racing. Jay always wanted to combine his passion for racing with his acting carreer and CLUTCH is the direct result of that decision! |