1974 Ed West

What I’ve Done With My Life Since College

· May 1974 Graduated Point Park College Department of Theatre Arts. Took an internship in scenic design at the NJ Shakespeare Festival for the summer.

· September 1974 Accepted position as Company Manager at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Went on tour for the first time. Florida in December. Texas in March.

· September 1975 Moved laterally to become Ballet technical director.

· December 21, 1975 Survived truck wreck in Chicago while on tour.

February 14, 1976 Married Antonia Dwyer at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Oakland. Three· grown sons resulted. Sean, 34; Michael, 31; Patrick, 26.

· September 1976 Became Production Manager for Pittsburgh Ballet.

· 1978 Published “Oakland Boy”, a collection of poetry.

· June 1979 Left Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Took a low paying job at the Fulton. Set about saving a theatre.

· February 1981 Published an article in Pittsburgh Magazine about the acoustic treasure that was the Fulton Theatre.

· March 1981 Started taking sailing lessons with my wife.

· May 1981 Received an apprenticeship to IATSE local #3. Rigged the Fulton to do rock ‘n roll. (First Show was U2. In their first headline job, they could not fill the Fulton’s 1400 seats.

· May 1984 Became a journeyman stagehand.

· June 1984 Purchased the “Westwind”, a 17’ Vagabond sloop.

· October 1984 Fulton acquired by the Cultural Trust. I got laid off. (After a multi-million dollar refit it reopened as the Byham Theatre.

· 1985 Began doing movies:

Gung Ho, Silence of the Lambs, Robo Cop, Lorenzo’s Oil (a dozen films in all)

· October 1989 Returned to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as Master Propertyman for a princely salary and healthcare. On the road again!

· September 1993 Purchased the “Duchess”, a 24’ Morgan Sloop. Gave up the movie business. Concentrated on the CLO in the summer and the ballet in the winter.

· February 1997 Purchased “Karma”, a 41’ Morgan ketch.

· July 1997 Ran away to sea with Toni, Mike, Patrick, and an 80lb German Shepherd named “Indy”.

· September 1997 Settled in Compass Point, St. Thomas. Tended bar, waited tables, sang, and worked as a first mate. Explored the Virgin Islands.

· August 1999 Attended Sea School. Upon completion, I received a Coast Guard Operator’s License.

· 2000 Upgraded to 50 ton Master’s License.

· 2001 Took a job as captain of Ponchis a 48’ power yacht.

· May 2002 Due to uncertain economy following 9/11, began returning to Pittsburgh for CLO summer season.

· July 2005 Upgraded to 100 ton Master’s license.

· December 2006 took a job as master of “Serendy”, a 75’ sailing catamaran.

· August 2007 Survive Hurricane Dean (cat 5) aboard “Serendy” with 11 passengers aboard.

· October 2008 Took a job as master of “Safari” a brand new, French built, sailing catamaran.

· July 24, 2009 Through the efforts of son Sean and daughter-in-law Jody, Iwas promoted to Grandfather.

· July, 2010 Due to uncertain economic times following George Bush, who knows what’s next.