About Eric Guisinger
Eric is a "Late Boomer" - born the third of six children to Mom, Twila, and Dad, Ralph, in good ol' Wichita, Kansas. His Dad was a decorated World War II Bomber Pilot (B-26 primarily). At the time of Eric's birth, his Dad was actually a crop duster (since the War was over), but things soon changed for the family when Dad was recalled to active duty for the Korean War.Being a "Military Brat", Eric has experienced more of this world than most people - sometimes more than he cared to - but he wouldn't trade it for the world. Attending numerous different schools, moving all the time to unknown places, gaining and losing friends, etc., are all huge challenges for a military family, but a sense of adventure and anticipation always kept his family together.Eric has been to all but five of the United States - when he was 22, he had moved 22 times. This includes his own stint in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era, where Eric served both Stateside and in Southeast Asia. After that service, Eric settled down - sort of. Attending something like six different colleges, he has just about enough credits for a degree, but never stayed at one campus long enough to actually get that degree. Majoring in Computer Science and Business, he worked many years in the Health Care industry as an Information Technology professional. However, something was missing - big time. At the young age of about 12, Eric had experienced the Theatre in London. Influenced by that, Eric harbored a desire to become an actor, but hadn't the vaguest idea how to make that happen.When the family moved from Fairford Royal Air Force Base in England, to Vandenberg Air Force Base, near Lompoc, California, Eric thought things were going his way and that Hollywood was just around the corner. Reality Check! Halfway through his senior year of high school (Cabrillo High), the Air Force decided Eric's family was needed in Colorado more than they were in California! So off to Lowry AFB, near Denver, Colorado he went with the family - with the dreams of acting going dim, as "life got in the way". Fast forward to 1989. Leaving his daughter, Anita, to complete college in Colorado, Eric moved back to the central coast of California, continuing his work in IT management, plus three years of teaching adults to use Personal Computers (and regaining the courage to act as a result.) As often happens, things are thrust upon us - Eric was invited to audition for Lazar Wolf, "the guy who doesn't get the girl", in a community theatre production of "Fiddler on the Roof". "Auditioning scared the hell out of me", says Eric, but "actually getting the part and committing to the rehearsal/ performance schedule was even more daunting." Overcoming a huge case of stage fright, Eric proceeded to thrive and gain huge experience and training as an actor - mostly in musical theatre, but also in non-musicals, such as his favorite, "You Can't Take It With You".However, Eric was still aiming for film and television - that is where he had always wanted to practice the Art of Acting. When an opportunity to retire early appeared, courtesy of the budget crisis in California Schools, Eric jumped out of the 9 to 5 world and into "what the hell have I done to myself"-land! Painfully aware that he needed a different skill-set, he enrolled in film/tv acting classes conducted by friend actor/director/producer/writer Aaron Michael Metchik - who is an acting coach for Zac Efron. Eric met Aaron while working with Zac when Zac wa...