I graduated from the MFA acting program at the University of California, Davis in June and immediately eased back into professional theatre. Mindy Cooper directed me in my final university show, Oklahoma! and we had such a great time that she also cast me in On the Town with Diablo Theatre Co. We are performing for one more week in the Hoffman Theatre at The Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. It's a beautiful 800-seat house. Luckily due to the strength of the show and support of the company, the houses have been good and the applause mighty. 

The role of Hildy is very me. I unleashed my inner New Yorker and the sass came flying out. I have not played a vamp role since I Can Get it For You Wholesale at Jewish Theatre of the South in 2001. It was a long time coming and quite a gift! The songs I sing are some of the more well known in the show -- I Can Cook, Too, Come Up to My Place -- so each night I had to let the pressure go and sing them my way - without worrying how I compared to those that played Hildy before me. Just breathe and belt.

One of my cast mates complimented me on a creating a vibrant, yet grounded character. I am not a review reader, so I take great stock in the words of those around me as the character develops. After doing so much Stanislavski work at UC Davis, I was excited to be successful in portraying Hildy as a character that lives in the world of a big, bad musical, but who also is a real person.