Ben created the role of Don in the World Premiere of Tennessee Williams' autobiographical play THE PARADE. He was recently seen playing Candide in the Leonard Bernstein masterpiece CANDIDE.
After receiving much critical acclaim for his portrayal of Romeo in ROMEO & JULIET, which was the first Shakespeare performed at the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Ben's comedic chops earned him a 'Best Performance' award in the Cape Cod Times for playing Agnes in SCHOOL FOR WIVES. Ben has been seen in the premiere of INSATIABLE HUNGER starring Lea DeLaria; WIT starring McNeeley Myers; and with Adam Berry in PHILADELPHIA HERE I COME.
After graduating from Sheboygan North High School where he earned numerous awards both regionally and nationally, Ben accepted an invitation to join the third class of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program. There he studied with a wide array of accomplished artists including Mark Rylance, John Barton, Andrew Wade, Thomas Prattki, Scott Freeman, Kenneth Washington, Marcela Lorca, and Kenneth Noel Mitchell. Ben became a founding member of the hit theater company Shakespeare on the Cape, the first successful theater company to be created from students of the U of M/Guthrie.
Other notable credits include the Off-Broadway revival of Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt's musical, CELEBRATION (14th Street Theater); Matt in THE FANTASTICKS (Skylight Opera); William Barfee in THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (dir. Terry Norgeot); Young Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Guthrie Theater); Celia in AS YOU LIKE IT (SOTC/Guthrie); Ariel in THE TEMPEST (SOTC); Betty/Edward in CLOUD 9 (SOTC);; Harlequin in TRIUMPH OF LOVE (Wellfleet Harbor Actors' Theater); Young Man in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival dir. Jef Hall-Flavin); and THE TRAVELING COMPANION and THE CHALKY WHITE SUBSTANCE (New Orleans Tennessee Williams Literary Festival dir. David Kaplan).
Ben is a proud recipient of the prestigious Ruth DeYoung Kohler Award for Artistic Excellence.
