I slowly realized that the benefits and enjoyment of each activity were greatly diminished by the multitasking. Watching a movie with my boyfriend while updating my website didn’t really count as “quality time with boyfriend” and the work on my website took twice as long since I was distracted. As a multitasker I saved very little time. I didn’t add more hours to my day—I just made the hours I actually had less enjoyable.

Statistically speaking, one in four women have been sexually assaulted, but since so many go unreported or even unspoken, it could be even higher.  I wanted those who’ve been harmed to feel seen, and those who haven’t to do more than say “I’m sorry”.  The biggest issue is that even if women are believed, people in power don’t seem to care.

Why am I telling you this?   Because my job as an artist, my purpose in life, is to tell the truth.  And I can’t fully tell the truth in my work until I can fully tell the truth about my own life.  I want to tell the truth.  I am so ready to tell the truth.  And my truth is that I’m a survivor.

The expectation to dedicate 20+, 30+, even 40 hours a week and be offered a daily or weekly stipend to ‘offset the cost of housing and living expenses; is simply absurd. Institutions “providing opportunities” like such are only doing harm to those that can’t afford to work for you.

Ultimately, life as an actor means wrestling with the idea that the success you desire may never materialize.  I think we can all agree based on the evidence that you have a better chance of getting a seat on the first manned mission to Mars than you do of booking a lead in a Marvel franchise.  So the question becomes – is that OK with you?

We don’t question the eight-show-a-week model, or the demands of score, or the press events the actors are expected to attend. We blame the actor. The show must go on. If it doesn’t, that actor is either lazy or they have bad technique. It’s a lose-lose situation.

In Their Footsteps is a celebration of real women in a messy and complicated war. The women in this play all served willingly, did the work, and then “went back into the shadows” when the war was over, with little or no recognition.

Every arts organization needs to craft policies and procedures that state a zero-tolerance policy for abusive, bullying, and similar conduct by any employee or volunteer.  That goes for the board, too. Board members, in particular, must train themselves to understand the law.  They need to know what local, state and federal laws have to say about harassment and abuse.  They need to make this training a regular and ongoing part of board orientation and development.

I’ve always found it fascinating that when I tell people I’m an actor, they think that means I lie for a living.  On the contrary, I’m a truth-teller…how can we know what our truth is if we don’t give ourselves time to simply be?

 Once we get artistically depleted, it’s nearly impossible to get the sh*t done we KNOW we need to be doing.  So here are five FREE things you can do this summer to recharge your artistic batteries.

After 20 years of performing professionally, I took a step back from my acting career out of frustration and a bit of confusion and asked myself WHY. I finally listened to a few curious voices that had been knocking for years and decided to pursue one of my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

Are you still balancing your iPhone on a stack of books and strategically aiming lamps at your face? These are frustrations you can do away with with a little preparation and some serious hacks.