I am a Co-Founder of the Be An #ArtsHero Campaign, Arts Workers United, and the Arts Workers United Foundation. . Learn more at www.ArtsWorkersUnited.com.
I was born in Topeka, Kansas. I went to school at Potwin Elementary (Go Panthers!), Robinson Middle School (Go Raiders!), Topeka High School (Go Trojans!), University of Kansas (Go JAYHAWKS!), and NYU's Graduate Acting Program (Go Bobcats!).
I came to acting in college, when, in a confluence of events, I auditioned for an improv troupe and also the fall musical. Before I knew it, I was rehearsing Stephen Sondheim’s ASSASSINS from 7-10 p.m. and writing sketches and improvising from 10-1 a.m. every day. I spent summers doing acting intensives in New York and at Shakespeare & Company in the Berkshires. Upon graduation, I moved to NYU to get my MFA from NYU’s Grad Acting Program, then chaired by the legendary Zelda Fichandler and lead by Ron Van Lieu. I graduated in the year 2000 and have been acting professionally ever since.
I believe that acting in film, television, and theatre is the most visceral, immediate, and important form of storytelling that humans have ever developed. Science is discovering all the time the way that stories and narratives impact our day-to-day experience, give meaning to our lives, and set the course for how we exist and understand the world around us. Stories help us make sense out of the senseless, give value and meaning to our days, and help us understand that we’re all here, sharing this planet, and living our lives together. A recent study showed that students who attended live theatre demonstrated more empathy and compassion than those who didn’t. http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/10/19/attending-live-theater-boosts-empathy-tolerance-in-students/76308.html This study didn't surprise me at all. When we, as human beings, expose ourselves to stories about what it means to be a human being, we realize that our triumphs and tribulations, which appear to be so unique and happening just to "us", are actually the universal fabric being alive. We all experience exultant joy and catastrophic grief. We all suffer from time to time. And we all succeed too. I think the more that people realize and understand that we are all in this life together, the more compassion, affection, and respect there can be in the world.
Right now the Arts are in danger in the United States. Our current Presidential administration is openly hostile to Arts & Culture, destroyed the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, attempted to reduce NEA, NEH, and IMLS funding to zero. Meanwhile our global neighbors like Canada, France, and Germany, spend billions each year to support Arts & Culture to make sure everyone has easy access to a wide variety of cultural experiences. Art is a cornerstone of a free and democratic society. The freedom to express and experience a diverse variety of Art, opinions, and points of view is an absolute necessity to maintain an open, fair, just, honest, and safe society.
Art and Artists speak truth to power, open our eyes to inequity, challenge us to grow, know more, and become more compassionate, affectionate, and respectful human beings. We’re living in dangerous times. Arts Workers are needed now more than ever before. It is us, after all, who are tasked with making the revolution (of the soul) irresistible.
That’s why, these days, in addition to my acting career, I steward Arts Workers United. On the other side of this difficult American moment, it will be the dreamers, the artists, and culture makers who will dare to dream of the better world so that we can join together and build it.