Biography

RUS McCOY was born in the city of Los Angeles. His formative years were spent in the San Fernando Valley and he had been residing in southern California until 2009. He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He released three independent compact discs: "ACE" (1992), "THE GRAVITY BELL" (1995) and "PEOPLE LIKE US" (1999) which was later re-titled "COWBOYS AND IDIOMS". He has also performed live in various coffeehouses in the southern California area, as well as gay festivals (Long Beach; Irvine; West Hollywood; Santa Barbara; Boise, Idaho; Tucson, Arizona; Chicago, Illinois; Washington DC and New York City).

In 2000 Rus decided to turn his creative energy towards live theater. His first musical, "MANZANAR: Story of an American Family" about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, was co-written with his long time friend  Dan Taguchi. The East West Players, a renowned Asian American theater group in downtown Los Angeles, immediately took on the project. Sold out readings of "MANZANAR" in 2002 and 2003 caught the attention of both the Los Angeles and New York Times resulting in articles in both papers. In 2004 and 2005 a scaled down version of the musical toured the Los Angeles schools as a learning tool by the State of California school system. Not only did the students learn of a little known chapter of American history; they were also exposed to the importance and possibilities of live theater. There were a total of 67 performances.

The latest musical entitled "MERGE", is a dramedy about Baby Boomers, corporate mergers and reconnecting with one's dreams. Rus co-wrote "MERGE" with Kimel Conway.