It
has always been my belief that if you want something badly
enough, you go for it. Such is the case with acting. Once
it’s in your system, it’s like a virus - it never leaves
you. It may remain dormant at times, but once it kicks in
there’s no known antidote.
My first appearance onstage was for a local PTA meeting at
the Cunniff School in Watertown, MA. I was 7 years old, and
trying to sing the National Anthem with my brother. He
decided to let me know I was a bit off-key by landing a
healthy shot in my ribs with his elbow. That didn’t go over
too well with my mother. He may have had perfect pitch, but
I suffered a sore rib.
Many years later, I studied voice at the Berklee School of
Music in Boston under the tutelage of the eccentric (but
wonderful) Leonard Lane, with stops at Northeastern
University and the Actors Workshop along the way. I fell in
love with the stage at the tender age of fifteen. I had
saved up my pennies to attend a new musical, Georgy, based
on the film, Georgy Girl. As I sat in the balcony, I felt a
rush of excitement as the lights dimmed and the orchestra
began to play. It was when I saw all those actors strut
their stuff across the stage, I knew that theatre was what I
wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Suddenly, I was off and running to auditions and trying to do
as many shows as I possibly could. I had the pleasure of
acting in such musicals as Mame (my very first), Anything
Goes, Carousel, Oklahoma, Man Of LaMancha, Baby, and
Company, to name a few. I then decided to move from Boston
to New York to fulfill that dream.
To help augment my acting career, I took a 3-month crash
course in radio and television announcing with the now
defunct Center for Media Arts in Manhattan. I managed to
find part-time work on various AM/FM stations in the NY area
as a DJ, and worked in radio sales for at least 7 years. WLIM in Patchogue was my favorite. It allowed me to showcase
my talents as the producer of my own show, 'The Jazz
Session', and to write my own copy.
In
1993, I decided to take a long sabbatical from the theatre -
ten years to be exact. I had since moved back to Boston to
find employment, and it was only when I answered a newspaper
ad in the fall of 2003 to attend an open call for the movie
Mystic River, that I realized how much I had missed acting.
I decided then and there to pursue my dream once again.
Since then, I have continued to work in independent and
feature films as much as possible, doing voiceovers and
singing gigs as they come along. In this business, you never
know what opportunity will come up next!
My
favorite quote; 'If you plan to reach for the stars - start
by standing on the roof'!
