When she got into college she thought she wanted to major in Political Science and minor in Spanish. She did end up getting a lot of credits out of the way, but when she dropped out, did some traveling, and went back to school, it was show biz all the way. She had her own personal enlightenment.
She’d take a class if she had to to get credits for graduation, but she wanted to sing, dance and act. She took drama classes, speech classes, dance classes, singing and music classes. She did shows, was the featured singer with a big band, got other bands and gigs together. She worked summer repertory: Kiss Me Kate (lead chorus), The Adventures of Walter Mitty (supporting role), Stop the World, I wanna Get Off (Lead – Evie).
After college she got a trio together and got gigs in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. She sat in wherever she could all over the Bay Area. She landed the lead in Hello, Dolly! a community production or Off Off Broadway, as she liked to tell it, which ran for six weeks. Everything came to a screeching halt when her husband and kids came to her and asked her to give it all up for them, which she did without a moment’s hesitation.
She did not sing or perform for the next fifteen years – not even at family gatherings. It was like giving up a lover, but she was not sorry. Her family had to come first and she was a good mother. Women are often asked to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others. She chose to be married. She chose to be a mother. She had to do what was necessary to make that work.
She gave herself not only to her own kids, but to all the kids she taught over the years just like it was given to her. She got the role of a lifetime when she began starring as a middle school teacher. She became the director, the producer, and the casting agent. She wrote the script which included all the subjects she herself had loved growing up. There was math, literature, history, art, music, and drama in her classroom everyday.
She established her own company of players, a youth theater experience that encouraged her students to sing out, to dance, to perform, to speak, to improvise, to take a chance. She never really left show business after all. If you get the chance to see her perform, do it. You won’t be disappointed!
(First published 6/20/12)
