Personality Test: Brad Stephenson
Brad Stephenson is director of marketing at Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland as well as a consultant for the New York-based artist service organization Creative Capital.
He is a regular performer and board member with Arcade Comedy Theater, where he co-produces and performs in the popular monthly Knights of the Arcade live Dungeons & Dragons improv comedy show. He knows that sounds geeky, and it is. Stephenson promises that it's also one of the funniest ways to spend a Saturday night in Pittsburgh.
Stephenson also is a member of #themusical, a new improvisational comedy team that takes social media hashtag suggestions from the audience and turns them into 20-minute musicals on the spot. The group was invited to participate in the 8th annual New York Improv Festival in October at the Magnet Theater in Manhattan.
Stephenson lives in O'Hara with his daughter, Sadie, 7.
The star who would play me in the movie version of my life and why:
George Takei, because that's what a Buzzfeed quiz told me.
Childhood hero and why:
Weirdly, George Takei. Really, though, I always thought Mikey in The Goonies was so cool I even tried to give myself asthma by standing in a cold shower.
The piece of memorabilia from my childhood I wish I still had:
All my original Star Wars and He-Man action figures.
Favorite season:
Fall. Or as I call it, pumpkin pie season.
Favorite ethnic food:
Always Thai
The song I want played at my funeral:
“All Star” by Smashmouth. I really want to make people think about my rotting body when they sing, “Some body once told me...”
Pick one: Veep / House of Cards / Scandal:
Can I just cheat and say “Stranger Things”?
Show I have or want to binge watch:
“Bloodline” on Netflix.
My favorite cable channel:
HGTV. I like to see grotesquely privileged people argue about the faucet selection for their $1.7 million homes.
What dessert matches your personality?
Bundt cake. Not sure why, but it seems right.
Which Disney character are you?
I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and don't you ever forget it.
Who's your favorite TV or movie villain?
Billy Mitchell in “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.”
Movie I could watch every time it appears on cable:
“Urban Cowboy” with John Travolta and Debra Winger.
The movie that always makes me cry:
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”
The first band I saw in concert:
Paul McCartney in Columbus, Ohio
The best concert I've ever seen:
I saw Kesha and the Creepies at Mr. Smalls recently, and that was a (really) good show. She doesn't get nearly enough credit.
Celebrity crush:
Kyle Chandler
Pick one: Pirates / Penguins / Steelers / Other / I hate sports:
Steelers, but the Penguins are making a strong play for my affection these days.
My favorite Pittsburgh athlete:
Charlie Batch.
Favorite lunchtime spot:
Emil's in Rankin.
My most embarrassing junk food:
I could eat an entire boxed yellow cake with chocolate frosting in one sitting.
My favorite Pittsburgh pizza:
Italian Village. Love the giant, foldable New York-style slices.
The most dangerous thing I've ever done:
“Fall in love,” he said in a deep, sensual voice.
Top thing on my ‘Bucket List' to do before I'm gone:
Where am I going? Am I going to die? I guess we all are. Thanks for reminding me of my mortality during this fun little quiz, Trib.
Best vacation ever:
Disney World for my daughter, Sadie's, 5th birthday.
In five years, I'd like to:
Be happy that I haven't heard the name Donald Trump for the past 5 years.
My favorite thing about Pittsburgh is:
How easy it is to make something awesome happen here. It's a very good community for creating cool things.
If I could go back, I'd tell me teenage self …
All the winners of every major sporting event for the next 20 years and how to invent Facebook.
I'm deathly afraid of:
How ignorant and hateful people can be while thinking they're kind and loving.
Favorite Pittsburgh-area landmark:
The 31st Street Bridge.
The person I'm most often mistaken for:
Every goofy, white, beardy man in Pittsburgh.
What you'll always find in my glove compartment:
Don't worry about it. I said don't worry about it.
If I wasn't director of marketing at the Carnegie Museum of Art, I'd be:
Much less happy. It's a pretty phenomenal gig in one of the greatest places in Pittsburgh.
The last book I read:
Currently reading “The Devil in the White City.”
Happiness is …
My daughter, Sadie.
Overused phrase you hate most?
“It is what it is.” No, it isn't. It is what you let it be.
People would be surprised to know that I:
Play a dwarven fighter in a monthly Dungeons & Dragons-based live comedy show called Knights of the Arcade.
