It’s always interesting coming back to something after decades. Some things stay the same. Some things change in ways one could never imagine (witness me here trying to create a “blog” and a “website” - things that actually didn’t exist the last time I was out in the world pursuing a career as an actress. It’s a different world, but it’s also the same. The same excitement, the same hope, the same alternating days of fulfillment and disappointment. However, in the Fall of 2018, I had the good fortune to perform the role of Arkadina in “The Seagull” for a gentle, kind and nurturing budding director in Columbia University’s MFA Directing program. It’s always wonderful to work with people as they learn and grow as people and artists and what could be better than doing it with Chekhov.
HOLLYWOOD NEBRASKA
July 2017 marked my return to acting after a long hiatus spent raising my kids. I was privileged to be able to portray the role of Jane in Kenneth Jones' beautiful new play "Hollywood, Nebraska" directed by Scott Alan Evans at The Wyoming Theater Festival.
To have had such an amazing playwright, wonderful director, and rockstar cast with whom to bring this touching piece to life on the stage made me speechless (and THAT is an accomplishment:) These are some of my new favorite people in the world.
Sometimes really amazing things happen in completely unexpected places. Sheridan, WY is a wonderful little town that welcomed this crazy cadre of playwrights, directors, actors and crew with open arms as they furiously worked to mount new plays, a musical and 6 new readings in 2 and a half weeks. The Wyoming Theater Festival is a little gem.
BLAME
Sometimes one spends a day in a high school in Metuchen, NJ and then goes home never realizing that two years later, the film that was shot will be a selection at both the Montclair and Tribeca Film Festivals, open in 10 cities across the country and one will end up in the trailer to boot.
AFRICA
Last month, we discovered that, no matter how good or bad a photographer you are, no matter what kind of camera you are using (be it a fancy multi-thousand dollar, multi-lens thing or an old iPhone) nor whether you are in South Africa or Botswana or Zimbabwe, it is basically impossible to take a bad photo of wildlife or scenery on the continent of Africa. And after culling our library, we have over 1000 photos to prove it. Exposing my girls to places with very different cultures and histories, has been one of the highlights of my life. That trip – with its breathtaking scenery, spectacular lodging, exposure to different lifestyles and experiences which opened my kids’ eyes to how lucky they are and yet how wonderful a very different lifestyle can be – was a bucket list that did not disappoint. We followed it this year with a different view of the African continent in Morocco and once again, we were awed. Travel can show us how different we are and yet also how much we are the same.
