Tony’s work blends humor and unease, grounding heightened, often desperate characters in worlds that feel familiar before bending out of shape. They found their artistic voice in Chicago’s DIY scene while living at The Shithole, an underground attic venue that hosted hundreds of variety shows.
Their early short films premiered back-to-back at SXSW: foundfootagexx100n.s.1 (2017), which they wrote and directed, and Allen Anders Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987) (2018), written by and starring Tony and directed by Laura Moss. Allen Anders… later became a Vimeo Staff Pick, was included in NoBudge’s 10th anniversary Favorite Films Ever playlist, and was acquired by BBC’s Channel Four. Tony was interviewed by No Film School in one of the site’s most widely listened to interviews of the year.
During the pandemic, Tony became an original cast member and host of Eschaton, a surreal online nightclub profiled by the Chicago Reader and described by The New York Times as “a wild in a singularly outrageous night club.” They developed what they describe as live interactive film: an ever-evolving solo performance built from multiple Hi-8 cameras, handmade miniature sets, and direct audience interaction.
Tony is currently in post-production on a new short film, WEAK MEN WILL HATE YOUR POWER!, produced by Laura Moss and Brendan J. O’Brien.
Parallel to their narrative work, Tony serves as a creative director for animated shorts and multimedia web projects and is a frequent guest lecturer at NYU. Their direction extends to music videos and live video art, including Wicked Wild by The Metalliques, which received the Audience Choice Award at Night Flight in 2023.
Tony’s training includes NYU Tisch (double major in Film & TV and Dramatic Writing), the Performing Arts Project (Bubby Fellow), the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (NTI), and formative work at Improv Olympic, Upright Citizens Brigade, and Second City.
