Inspiring Women : November 2020

actor and as a choreographer. Favorite acting credits: Ruth
(Tribes), Maggie (Brigadoon – national tour), Loretta (White
Christmas), Ghost of Christmas Future (A Christmas Carol),
ensemble (The Grumpiest Boy in the World), Hunyak (Chicago),
Gertie (Failure: A Love Story), Sister Berthe (The Sound
of Music), ensemble (Curtains) and Flora (Sleeping Beauty).
My husband and I moved to the Netherlands in July 2019.
We moved for his job and plan to stay in Amsterdam for the
next few years. We live with our three-year old
Goldendoodle who loves long walks in Vondelpark. We
actually just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. I think
we should get bonus points because we survived an
international move and a global pandemic in our first year
of marriage.
Currently, I am teaching a beginning acting course for a
On our wedding day with Maisy the Goldendoodle theater company here in Amsterdam. I am facilitating virtual
theater visits to cheer up children who are in the hospital.
Lastly, I am in grad school studying the positive effects of the arts in a healthcare setting.
Getting Involved in Acting
My very first acting role was playing the lead in a
community college’s production of The Philanderer by
George Bernard Shaw. I was nervous about memorizing
my lines but, once I learned how to step into the
character, I was completely confident. Once I had my
character’s walk, voice, gestures, posture, mannerisms,
habits, essence and objectives, I became the character:
My character and I were one. When I was performing in a
play or a musical, all of my other worries just melted
away. Theater can be used as an escape, providing us
with an opportunity to explore another world, another
way of being, where the possibilities are endless. This can
be very therapeutic. After the end of my first production I
knew I had to keep pursuing theater so I could feel the
same high that I felt while onstage as a character.
When I was 19 years old, I was accepted into the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts summer program in
New York City. I was so excited for the opportunity to Me acting In The Philanderer
train with some of the best! I had been to the doctor a
few days before leaving, because I had felt a lump in my breast. Because of my age, I did not think
anything of it. However, the doctor was concerned and decided to do a biopsy. My mom and I flew to
New York City the next day. The moment we landed, I received a voicemail from the doctor telling me
that I needed to fly home and have surgery. The biopsy results were abnormal and there was a
possibility that we were dealing with a malignant tumor. I was absolutely devastated. My mom and I
flew back to Phoenix and I had a lumpectomy. The tumor was the size of an orange! After a few days,
I got the results that it was a rare form of tumor but thankfully, it was benign. This experience
pushed me to be even more motivated and dedicated to pursue my dreams.
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