Rodney grew up on a small agricultural farm in Indiana where he worked alongside his dad picking vegetables to sell at the local farmer’s market. It wasn’t until high school that the love of the arts took hold and he realized that singing was just story-telling with music. So, Rodney set course for Broadway after earning his musical theater degree at Ball State University. It was a college professor and mentor there who encouraged him to always find the truth of the character, and that’s exactly what Rodney intended to do… in New York City!
When he made it to The Big Apple, Rodney was quickly chosen for the lead in the national tour of “The Secret Garden.” Caught up in success, Rodney started walking according to his own desires. However, one night while walking home, Rodney was mugged by three men with a baseball bat. In one moment, his life was completely changed. He woke up with a traumatic brain injury that left his short term memory impaired, taking five years to fully heal. During that time, the Lord became Rodney’s all in all by humbling him through his new limitations. He could not remember new information and literally had to tape his address to his wallet. There were times he became lost on the street and would allow complete strangers to give him money or help him find his way.
After the injury, Rodney’s career in musical theater came to a standstill, though his passion for the stage still burned. With the encouragement of friends, he began to perform again, however with a different motivation than before. He realized his desire for self-glory had changed. He now wanted Christ to be the focus. For the last 12 years, God has allowed him a successful acting career by performing in Christian productions. He spent eight of those years at Sight and Sound Theaters playing the biblical roles of Jonah, Aaron, and most recently Nicodemus in the production of “Jesus.”
Rodney’s passion is to use the arts to bring people the hope of Christ. He longs to see the broken understand their value in the eyes of a loving God. It’s one thing to know who you are, but true freedom comes when you know Whose you are!