Biography

Rich Swingle has performed and/or taught on six continents, in 39 nations and in hundreds of venues, mostly with a dozen one-man plays he has written or helped develop: A Clear Leading, Big Fish Little Worm, The Revelation, The Acts, Alien Immigration Training, Views of the Manger, Five Bells for 9/11, Journey to the Garden, Paradise Lost, God of Hope, Shepherds Reflect on the 23rd Psalm, and Beyond the Chariots, which he's performed Off-Broadway, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (the largest arts festival in the world), in LA, Toronto, Hong Kong, Shangai, Transylvania, and in Beijing, Vancouver, Singapore and London while those cities hosted the Olympics.

Rich has lived in New York City since 1993, where he's acted in a number of productions, film, radio, and CD-ROM. He has been featured in 21 movies, most notably the lead role of Frederich Lehman in Indescribable, the lead role of Mitchell Little in Providence, the featured role of Dr. Bonneville in Beyond the Mask, the featured role of Claud in the award-winning A Christmas Snow, the principal role of Coach Sean Ryan in For the Glory, and the featured role of Sheriff Hanson in the award-winning Pawn's Move, the featured role of John Gray in In His Steps, the featured role of a land speculator in Alone Yet Not Alone, Hollywood director Forrest Woods in The Screenwriters, a quirky clerk in Christmas Grace, a lead in the short film Settled, the featured role of Dr. Bonneville in Beyond the Mask, the featured role of a land speculator in Polycarp: Destroyer of Gods, the featured role of a homeless man in Confessions of a Prodigal Son, the featured role of a newscaster in Creed of Gold, and the featured role of Nigel Livengood in Princess Cut. For the complete lineup visit www.IMDb.me/RichSwingle and www.RichDrama.com/Films.

Rich has co-directed with John Kirby (acting coach on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, DéJà Vu, Count of Monte Cristo) on Tartuffe and Our Town, during which Rich performed the role of the Stage Manager, and The Miracle Worker. He worked with Patricia Mauceri (Broadway: Othello with James Earl Jones, film: Don Juan de Marco with Johnny Depp and TV: One Life to Live) to direct The Crucible, The Jeweler's Shop by Pope John Paul II, Twelve Angry Jurors, and Much Ado About Nothing. The last three plays were performed in Theatre 315, and Off-Broadway space.

He received his master's degree in theatre from Hunter College, where he studied under Eric Bentley--who was a student of C. S. Lewis--Tina Howe (playwriting), Patricia Sternberg (sociodrama)--a student of sociodrama's inventor, Jacob L. Moreno--and Jerome Coopersmith (screenwriting)--screenwriter for An American Christmas Carol and many of the original Hawaii Five-O episodes.