Scott Seidl’s resume has a lot of jobs that seem to go together and one that doesn’t look like it quite fits in.
Seidl, who has been the executive and artistic director of The Augusta Players since 2017, has made his career as a performer, writer, educator and bodyguard.
“I’d worked as a tour accountant for Live Nation,” said Seidl. “After a few weeks off, I was housesitting in West Hollywood when I got a call that Steven Tyler of Aerosmith needed a new road manager.”
Seidl said he hesitated at first. He was scheduled to tour with Live Nation in Asia and Europe, so he called a friend to ask for his advice.
“He said, ‘Dude, this is Aerosmith,’” Seidl said.
Needless to say, he took the job, spending more than two years as Tyler’s road manager and bodyguard. Tyler’s relapse into drugs in 2006 ended that job as Seidl said the singer became abusive.
The job was ironic, Seidl said, because as a junior high school student, he was learning to play the drums and the first song he learned was Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”
Other jobs in his career path include 14 years in education. His first career was as a music teacher at a Catholic high school.
Skills he developed along the way included playwriting.
“I made my living as a show writer,” he said.
The Augusta Players are currently in rehearsals for a production of “The Velveteen Rabbit,” adapted by Seidl.
He’s also writing another play called “Duet,” which focuses on people older than 60. Seidl said that there’s not a lot of material for people in that age group.
“The great thing about writing is you can do it any time and anywhere,” he said. “And I write really well with deadlines. Something has to be done by x date because we have auditions, and we have to have a script.”
One of the projects he worked on behind-the-scenes was a show with the Jim Henson Co. at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. He said it was an incredible experience to watch the show take off.
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“I was a sponge,” he said.
And while he’s spent a lot of time behind the scenes, he’s done plenty of on stage work as well.
He’s been on national tours, worked on cruise ships and at theme parks. He did a stint with the Blue Man Group.
He still has his fingers on the pulse of the theater world outside Augusta, and he’s hopeful for a return to live theater in 2021.
“I feel confident about a show being in the Imperial Theatre,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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