Raymond C. Lai was born, named and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia. Nourished on a steady, intraocular diet of sitcoms, cartoons and B-grade cinema, he developed an insatiable appetite for the moving picture at a very young age. Relocating to sunny, southern California, Lai began making his own short films, much to the delight of some of his high school classmates, a few faculty members, and zero parents. Upon graduating high school, he found himself at UCLA, where he met a group of like-minded folks in the theater group Lapu, the Coyote that Cares. He wrote numerous short plays for the stage to a bit more peer acclaim, and decided to dedicate himself fully to the art of storytelling. 2005 brought some good news when a spec script that he and his writing partner wrote was selected as a finalist for the FOX sponsored CAPE New Writers Award. With this renewed sense of confidence, Lai set his eyes on the next level, directing. In 2006, Raymond enrolled in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Here he learned how to put his written words into the mouths of actors and the eyes of cameras, and found he had quite a knack for weaving comedy with a sense of pathos. Lai now lives in Long Beach with his beautiful wife Sarah. He is honored to be a part of the 2011 class of Project:Involve, and armed with the knowledge and experience he has gained over the last few decades, he’s ready for action. Excelsior!