Michael A. Ventrella was dramatic from an early age, acting in community
theatre and writing his own plays with his siblings. He also wrote puppet
shows and performed them for his school. His earliest desire was to be a
cartoonist and his drawings adorned school newspapers and posters. Later,
he discovered music and taught himself to play guitar and piano, writing
simple songs with his friends.
He continued his many talents through high school and college and in
addition to being a well accomplished lawyer, he is an expert in Live
Action Role Playing and fantasy writing, and he's been in several
successful bands.
Mike also started a magazine about animated films called “Animato” in the
mid 80s which grew to be quite prominent. He was quoted in many
publications as an animation expert, including “Entertainment Weekly” and
in the recent book "The Dream Team: The Rise and Fall of DreamWorks:
Lessons from the New Hollywood" by Daniel M. Kimmel.
In 1989, Mike and his wife Heidi helped form the United States' largest
live action roleplaying organization, now known as The Alliance
(www.AllianceLARP.com) which now has campaigns all over the country. He
has
been writing plotlines for them from the beginning, and his Rule Book and
Players’ Guide sell regularly in gaming stores and on Amazon.com.
Mike is a regular fixture at science fiction conventions on the east
coast, where he appears on panels to discuss fiction, animation, and
gaming.
( http://mikeventrella.com ).
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