Mini Biography
J.T. Tepnapa had always aspired to be the greatest actor that ever lived. Born in Long Beach, California, he moved to Illinois at 13 years of age. He credits his high school choir teacher, Susanne Freese, for having the nerve to put a short brown kid in the high school musicals. She has been the spark of inspiration over the years. After graduating from high school, he returned to California and received a bachelor's degree in acting at the University of California, Irvine.
He has appeared in many award-winning plays, features, shorts, and commercials, and was awarded The Ticketholder Award for Best Supporting Actor in "Spinning Into Butter" in 2001. After numerous commercial gigs and music videos, it became abundantly clear that the "greatest actor that ever lived" bit probably wasn't going to happen. So, he did what all actors want to do; he directed.
In 2001 he directed, wrote, and starred in his first short film, "Sunflowers", which appeared at that year's Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and Tuscon's Outwest 2001. The creation of "Sunflowers" also marked the birth of his own production company, newly-named Blue Seraph Productions.
In early 2002, J.T. teamed up with longtime friend Charlie Gage to create "Masturbation: Putting the Fun into Self-Loving". Reunited with many of same crew from "Sunflowers", a few talented newcomers, and the unwavering aid of executive producer Bill Warren, this team quickly turned out one of the funniest short films in years. "Masturbation" went on to become a smash hit, screening in countless film festivals in 6 countries, receiving numerous awards, international distribution, and has even been featured in sex-education classrooms and documentaries.
Not one ever to rest on his own laurels, J.T. went on to direct, write, and produce two more short films, "Drag Queen Heist" in 2004 and "Begging for Change" in 2006. Both films received Best Short Honors at QCinema's Fort Worth International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Capable and skilled in writing both comedy and drama, J.T. has been described by festival director Barbara Lee as "more than just the director of comedy films. He has become an artist of film; able to reflect to us reality whether it is absurd and laughable or serious and important". Not just successful in film, but also his screenplay, "Outing Joey", received top honors in Rhode Island's Barren Branches GLBT Screenplay Competition. Co-written with David Donihue, competition coordinator Adam Short described their film as a "twist on contemporary gay and straight stereotypes bringing perspective to the tension between these two groups and our society's need to push for greater acceptance of all its diverse segments."
J.T. Tepnapa always manages to keep busy. For the last 7 years, he has appeared on of the longest running web series, Rob Caves' "Star Trek: Hidden Frontier", where he plays the openly gay Lt. Cmdr. Corey Aster. Featured in Variety, Frontiers, Fab magazine, The Today Show, MSNBC, and various news outlets, J.T. is honored to be a part of the sci-fi phenomenon: bringing Gay and Science Fiction together in the same sentence.
As part of Blue Seraph Productions, J.T. is currently in production to shoot another short film, "And the Oscar Goes To", to honor his most-awarded film. With that short, he'll be going back to the basics with his tongue-in-cheek format. Also just beyond the horizon, he has a new dramatic feature called "Judas Kiss". J.T.'s second feature screenplay is being co-written by long time friend, screenwriter, and journalist, Carlos Pedraza, and should begin shooting in late 2007.
Although J.T. Tepnapa started his career off as an actor, he has found life to be quite rewarding as a filmmaker. He is honored to not only to have a career in filmmaking, but is also happy to share his journey with Adam Browne, actor, and all-around kibitzer. "I must always give back to my community what it has given to me", J.T. says. Although fame and fortune may not be on the horizon, JT will never waver from being a dedicated and proud GLBT filmmaker.
Mini Biography By:
Blue Seraph Productions / edited by Andrew Foster
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