Once upon a time... in Memphis, TN, a little geeky 14 year-old red-haired girl saw a touring production of CATS. Amidst the bright lights and singing actors rolling around the stage in face paint and matted fur, a dream was born... Seriously.
Fortunately for me, a wonderful mentor and teacher, Mark Collins, was waiting to touch
my life in ways I could not yet imagine. Although he is no longer with us, I continue
to hear his voice whenever I start to lose my nerve. He taught me above all to believe in myself and to never allow myself to settle for being "white bread."
So off I drove in my trusty Saturn (thanks mom & dad) to University of Missouri, Columbia where I studied a smattering of performance styles, from Theatre of the Oppressed and Adaptation of Literature to Musical Theatre and Shakespeare. I learned
to utilize performance to educate, advocate
for social change, as a means of self-discovery, and of course, to entertain!
| ![]() During that time, I spent a summer working at The York Theatre as an intern and wardrobe mistress, my first taste of the city life...and of washing other people's dirty skivvies, both important life lessons. I rounded out my 4th year at Mizzou by winning the Region V ACTF Irene Ryan Scholarship competition, performing at the Kennedy Center in DC for the National Finals (on my birthday!), and being awarded a Fellowship to the Sundance Theatre Lab.
I moved to nyc the following year and have been rockin' it here on stage and screen ever since.
sugar and spice.
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