I started acting long before I knew what I was doing. At age 19 and a junior in college, I joined the cast of a summer outdoor theatre in North Carolina called Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama center. I was a choir singer, a square dancer and understudied a lead role (that of a 70 year old woman). I played the role once. I came offstage in a blackout (we rehearsed in daylight, of course) was hit by some heavy moving scenery and knocked out. I was woken up and put on my feet in time for my next scene. That job paid room and board and about $40 a week.
Later, I did two summers working with the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, before that company became Equity. The small salary included housing (four actresses in a two-room apartment). I then landed a year-long contract with the [now closed] Pocket Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, where I earned my Equity card and was paid my first professional salary. Then, I went to New York City and for a year studied acting with Michael Howard, a fine teacher, now retired. I’ve worked pretty constantly ever since.
Michael taught me how to rehearse; seven years of constant repertory taught me how to act. I learned to avoid heavy scenery on my own. Blackouts make me nervous.
