Who I Am - As a Creator and a Human
As a Creator
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and, like many, have been acting for as long as I can remember. What started as doing goat noises and one-acts for community theatre at age eight has developed into a deep love for exploring just how much theatre can make people think and feel. I relish any opportunity to play dramatically complex and realistic characters or characters that push my physical and vocal boundaries (hello dialect work!)
Shows that really excite me are most often contemporary plays that are made by, for, or about women and are emotionally powerful in a way that is relevant to today's world. Anything that is unabashedly making some kind of statement intrigues me, and if a script plays with structure or time, you can sign me up.
Of course, the goat-noise making little girl in me has never truly left. Living adjacent to all of this appreciation for drama is a deep love for comedy. With an ever-lengthening history with improv, a tendency to spread laughter in my day-to-day life, and a flirtatious relationship with Clown, I love the chance to leave social expectations at the door and just be silly.
At my core, I'm a people person. I strive to influence others, whether that be making them look inward on themselves or making them crack a smile at the absurd.
As a Human...
(see below for a bit who I am outside of the arts)
Midwestern and Proud
I wear my Midwest quirks with pride! For a long time, I couldn't even comprehend what life was like outside of the Chicagoland area - I didn't see a mountain until I was twenty years old! Tailgates and Chicago dogs and driving through cornfields with the music on and the windows down are some of my ideas of a good time. For college, I got an amazing acting education at what I describe as the hidden gem of the Midwest: the University of Iowa. I know BFA/conservatory programs have their own perks to offer, but I wouldn't trade my Rah-Rah State School Experience or Arts Education for the world. If you've got any connection to the Big Ten I will talk sports and mascots all day. Go Hawks !
Books!
I love reading! I wasn't a big reader as a tween/teen, but in college caught the book bug and it became a pillar of my being. I read around 75 books a year, have worked at 2 libraries, a bookstore, and have influenced countless reading habits of those around me. I read a lot of Romance and Mystery/Thrillers, the occasional Sci-Fi series or Contemporary Fiction, and of course am constantly reading plays.
Favorite Reads:
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Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
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Good Girl by Aria Aber
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Anything by Elle Kennedy
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The Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Note: The "Book Bug" is NOT related to the Bed Bug
(Women)'s Basketball
because Everyone Watches Women's Sports
Women's Basketball in the NCAA, the WNBA, Unrivaled- I love it all! Iowa is my team at the college level (of course), and I'm an Aces fan in the WNBA (though more importantly, I'm a Kate Martin fan and a Kelsey Plum fan). Nothing brings me joy like a women's basketball game, especially in recent years as so much success and attention has come to the league and its players.
Speaking of... unrelated to sports but in this same vein, I will ALWAYS stand as an advocate for gender equality and empowering women. The only tattoo on my body is a Mimosa flower, the flower symbolic of feminism. Those inspiring Nike commercials with montages of amazing moments in women's sports? ANY montage of women showing their (literal or emotional) power? Tears in my eyes every time.
March Madness is Birdy approved