The Episcopal Actors’ Guild’s “mini” A Chorus Line 50th Anniversary Tribute rocked Guild Hall on September 29, 2025. Our original plan went out the window with Baayork Lee’s desire to just sit, talk and reminisce. Boy was she right! We had no idea our life would resonate so strongly throughout the room and, on the larger canvas of theater life internationally!
Yes! An actor’s life for me . . .
And at this stage of our life, our history is the star. Just as our “Cinderellas of West 53rd Street: Stories from the Legendary Rehearsal Club” publication celebrates all our women in their quest for fame and fortune. The elusiveness of fame has been preserved for many, including me, with the advent of social media — TikTok and YouTube providing easy access to showcasing talent. How I wish we’d had that outlet when we were in our prime! The ONLY preservation that we ever danced is captured on the film, Superstar, shot in 1972 — after which we married in England before flying home to continue our theatrical journey. Oh, and my husband saw himself dancing in the Lincoln Center archives when he went to research Shaker movement – Doris Humphrey piece shot while attending High School at the Performing Arts (1957)
Today, I keep the door open for the mid-size agent who will fight to get me “guest” star level; or . . . dream of dreams . . . originating a role in a pilot! After so many years being labeled a “soap opera pretty face,” I am seeking to do a role in line with my own integrity and that touches on my own personal passions. Probably impossible. I’m a vehicle for a writer. Finding the right writer is key. Sooo much fun those first two years on The Guiding Light, discovering “me” through “them.” See History Lesson 1.
Meanwhile, our Shakespeare Alive series is coming to an end this year with the final play, Henry VIII. What a journey this has been! Except for scripts, I’m not much of a reader yet, during Covid, a zoom workshop at the Episcopal Actors Guild, helped me get through “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. I’d had two copies of that book, one in CT and one here. Both dog-eared to the first chapter only. From March 2020 thru May, I read a chapter a week with another like-minded theater group at EAG and by May, we finished the book! Hummm, I wonder if I could gather actors together to read Shakespeare? I knew I’d never sit down and read those plays!
By August, 2020, actors came on board to read “Midsummer Night’s Dream” (I got to play “Titania”) and by November, 2025, we had formed a company, brought Shakespeare guru, Page Clements, on board to give an Overview of each play prior to reading and systematically read thru every single play the bard wrote! Shocking! And wonderful. And . . . maybe I’m slowly breaking the brand of “soap opera pretty face?” (That’s me reading the Epilogue to Henry VIII below).
Who knows? Time tells all. What I do know is we’re now planning on taking some of our players “live” at EAG with “Comedies & Clowns,” again led by Page Clements. Who knows? We just might tackle other classic playwrights along the way.