When Chaz Moneypenny first arrived at SCAD to begin his MFA in dramatic writing, he wanted to become a comic book writer. Though he still affirms he will publish his own graphic novel someday, Moneypenny said his experiences at SCAD led him on a slightly different route.
Moneypenny (a 2013 MFA alumnus) spoke about this and other turning points in his academic and professional career April 5 at Arnold Hall in a lecture titled, “From Savannah to a Galaxy Far, Far Away.”
As a musical theater undergraduate student, Moneypenny achieved initial success as an actor right out of school. When working as an actor began to dry up, Moneypenny started wondering how he could take further control of his a career.
“I asked my dad ‘What should I do,’ and he said, ‘Just think back to the time you were the happiest,” Moneypenny said. “And the first thing that I thought of was sitting on my bed as a kid reading comic books. And so I was like, ‘that’s what I’m going to do.’”
Being a very approachable medium, comics and sequential art became Moneypenny’s paralleled focus next to writing. Moneypenny said he chose to attend SCAD because of its stellar sequential art department, which was where he studied all of his electives.
Moneypenny said he chose to attend SCAD because of its sequential art department, which was where he studied all of his electives. “They made me walk the walk, not just talk the talk,” Moneypenny said.
Moneypenny credits the sequential art department in helping him discover his creative self and hone his craft.
“It’s where I found myself creatively,” Moneypenny said. “It jump-started me onto this crazy thing that is turning out to be my career, and I don’t take it for granted for a second. I love it.”
Through cross-pollinating between writing and drawing, Moneypenny said he met and befriended various sequential art students and professors during his time at SCAD.
One mentor in particular introduced Moneypenny to a Walt Disney Imagineer, a crucial interaction which inspired him to attend the SCAD Imagineering off-campus field trip.
“That’s how I kinda got the spark of, ‘Oh I want to tell experiential, interactive storytelling’,” Moneypenny said.
Moneypenny said he draws inspiration not just as a writer but as a visual storyteller from animator and visionary John Lasseter as well as comic book artist Grant Morrison. Asked what advice he would give students who are trying to figure out how to hone their passion as a career path, Moneypenny said to first and foremost be flexible.
“I would say be flexible, be adaptable, be able to recognize a good opportunity when it presents itself, and also learn your fundamentals,” Moneypenny said. “This [SCAD] is the perfect place to do that. You can focus entirely on learning your fundamentals.”
Moneypenny said the bigger advantage and payoff of his theater background has given him is his usefulness as a voice actor for specific projects at Disney.
Written by Emilie Kefalas.
