The Dave Barish brand of comedy feature/TV writing and stand-up has been cultivated over the many years playing the role of son to Jewish New York psycho-therapist parents; a tween barely surviving a Brady Bunch-ish experience where he was forced to eat off the kids menu; and single dad attempting to consciously parent his somewhat gifted daughter.
Dave can light up any room he enters…with his handy halogen flashlight. Strong and confident on the outside, he hides his sensitivity, insecurities and chocolate addiction under the black hoodie he wears everyday.
Dave has been many things in his life but barista is not one of them, much to the relief of the entire coffee drinking world. He was an auditor and fraud investigator in New York at the now defunct Arthur Andersen (he had nothing to do with the Enron scandal, he swears). He had the opportunity to travel to Caracas, Venezuela for a project, getting out just before an attempted military coop (he had nothing to do with it, he swears).
After a few years of the suit and tie thing, Dave got antsy and decided last minute to quit his job and go backpacking for a year. Best. Decision. Ever.
Dave visited Hawaii, Western Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and Fiji that year. He had the time of his life meeting travelers from around the globe, playing his acoustic guitar and learning that he really didn’t know how to drink until he imbibed with the Aussies.
Dave loved Australia so much, he immigrated there and was hired, sight unseen, by Price Waterhouse in Melbourne, Australia. They had no idea he would show them how shit gets done, New York style. But…Dave’s true goal was to open up a backpacker hostel in Australia within two years. What did he know about running a hostel? Zero. Zip. Nada.
And…twenty-two months after moving to Melbourne, Dave had his backpacker hostel and pub in the bustling suburb of South Melbourne. Highly rated by Lonely Planet and Let’s Go travel guidebooks, Dave reveled in the fun of owning a pub and not wearing a suit and tie. Dave encountered some interesting guests at the hostel and pub. Such as a group of local neo-nazi skinheads who orderd peach Schnapps (and left a gas mask in the bar), a large Maori with a switchblade who wanted to drink his slab of to go beer in the bar (I said okay, of course), and a gaggle of Irish nurses who stayed for six months and refused to clean their room. It stank to high heaven.
Upon returning to America, Dave started a backpacker travel guide that was handed out for free at hostels around the United States. Bakpak Dave was born. He also created books for backpacking to Europe which were sold on Amazon. Later, he added a campervan/RV booking service, providing advice and bookings to international travelers coming to the US and Canada for a road trip.
Dave discovered his passion for screenwriting while taking his first class at the Gotham Writers Workshop in New York City. His first screenplay, The Doorman, a comedy feature was a second rounder in the Austin Screenwriting Contest. He wrote a few more scripts, focusing on comedy and family genres.
At some point though, Dave had to get married, have a kid and get divorced. That’s life right? But he’s loving being a single dad to a teen daughter. All alone with her. Every. Other. Week. Thankfully, he’s got a few black hoodies.
Dave studied economics and accounting at the University of Michigan. In his spare time, he was a football manager (not waterboy) under legendary Coach Bo Schembeckler and played on the rugby team until his arm was nearly ripped out of it’s socket.
email: dave@davebarish.com
Twitter: @davebarish
Representation: It could be you?