Raised in Ferndale, Washington, a dairy town, about 20 minutes from the Canadian border. Began performing around age twelve, and formed a number of bands, including, The Fantastic Four, Dry Ice, Atlantis, and finally Oasis, (this was years before the British version). Studied classical piano and performed often. Didn't seriously consider writing original theater work until winning a poetry competition at age 20, at that time began writing Little Boy Goes to Hell, which became a "4-Record Set with Book" on Pop Llama Records, and a musical performed at Seattle's infamous Annex Theater. Went on to work with creators of Annex in film, and ultimately produced "Flared Pants", starring a then unknown, Paul Giamatti and Brian T. Finney. and Jillian Armenante. Continued to do soundtracks and work with director Garrett Bennett. Created at least 20 musicals for adults and children including Joe Bean with his long-time collaborator, Bob McAllister. Arranged for many Northwest rock albums including the very popular, "Return of the Frog Queen" by Jeremy Enigk and the grammy-winning, "Amsterdam Stranded", by Norway's Midnight Choir. A long time orchestrator for the Walkabouts, traveled to Poland and conducted the Warsaw Philharmonic, as well as toured both Western and Eastern Europe with that same band. Most notably, is a writer/producer on Wonka, Seattle's longest-running children's show. A score for the Caucasian Chalk Circle, which Mark composed in 2004, has been performed numberous times around the world. Mark's band Manooghi Hi is set to release a first album in March 2009. A resident of Seattle for 20-plus years, Mark lives in Sebastopol, CA and has a 17-year-old son, Aidan Fay. In October 2009, Mark's burning man inspired opera How to Survive the Apocalypse premiered to a month of sold-out houses at San Francisco's Teatro Zinzanni circus tent. The 3-camera HD DVD is in the making!
Click here to read some nice things people have said about Mark