Dan Spurgeon (Founder, Artistic Director) spent his childhood in Norman, Oklahoma devouring late-night horror movies and local theatre productions. The Visceral Company is the natural result of this misspent youth.
Dan studied theatre at Oklahoma City University and the University of Oklahoma, working as an actor in far too many videos, plays, musicals, and drag shows to remember them all. Finally escaping west to California, Dan earned a BFA in Motion Pictures from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, where he also met his husband and producing partner Drew
Dan was formerly Artistic Director of Cobblestone Productions in New York City, where he produced the NYC premiere of Mary Hanes' The Crimson Thread and directed the world premiere of Jorjeana Marie's Ally, Mary Jane, and Me. He also wrote and directed two original adaptations for the company, one based on Evelyn Piper's novel Bunny Lake is Missing, the other developed from several short stories by H.P. Lovecraft. During his time in New York, he also worked for The Shubert Organization for several years, and studied playwriting with Pulitzer and Tony nominee Tina Howe.
Since arriving in Los Angeles four years ago, Dan has directed and written for a number of venues in a variety of projects. For The Visceral Company, Dan directed the West Coast Premiere of The Revenants; written the play Ghost Light, and directed several of the pieces that made up Four Shadows and Tales to Die For. The film version of his short play "Bugbaby," starring the incomparable Mink Stole, won the Best Horror Short award at the 2011 International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival.
Contact: dan@thevisceralcompany.com
The theatre bug inevitably bit again, and Drew worked with his husband Dan to produce shows in San Francisco (Some Things You Need to Know Before the World Ends), New York (Ally, Mary Jane, and Me; Bunny Lake is Missing; and Lovecraft: Nightmare Suite), and Los Angeles (The Importance of Being Earnest, and all The Visceral Company's productions so far). He is also the Executive Producer of The Visceral Company's award-winning short film "Bugbaby."
Contact: drew@thevisceralcompany.com
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Drew Blakeman (Founder, Managing Producer) has been a proud sci-fi/horror geek as far back as he can remember. At various points in his youth, Drew fantasized about being Will Robinson; saw all five Planet of the Apes movies in a single sitting; snuck into The Exorcist (and was disappointed that it didn't make him get sick); wrote and starred in Star Trek fanboy videos (as Spock, of course); and wished he really could have taken Carrie to the prom.
Although frankly not a particularly talented actor, Drew still managed to get cast in numerous school and community theatre productions before heading off to college. After graduating from Boston University with a B.S. in Film, he found himself playing bass in a series of punk bands that probably weren't very good but were a lot of fun anyway.
