How did you get involved in Island Players?
Through Joyce Morehouse. She recruited both Anselm and me to be in ‘Salute to Broadway’. Anselm had a good voice, we both could sing. It was my first time on stage. I liked it and ended up being in lots of plays.
So, never on stage before?
No. In college I had taken a course about Shakespeare. I managed to get a grant to go to the Stratford-On-Avon Shakespeare Festival in England. I remember reading Shakespeare sitting by the water. Anselm and I got married in Stratford. I later found out that Joyce had also been to the Stratford festival. But I had never acted on stage before.
Did you have favorite roles? Favorite plays?
‘The Mousetrap’ was one. ‘Our Town’ was a favorite. ‘Oliver’ was fun. ‘The Dining Room’, I got to play different roles, being a little kid. In one play I was a high priestess. In another one I was a police woman. Joyce pulled a lot out of me that I never thought I could do. She kept encouraging me, taught me a lot.
Future involvement in Island Players?
Well, probably not on a big stage. Now I like coaching others, helping others who are learning to act, helping them learn lines, or dealing with anxiety about being on stage. I took a director’s workshop held by Island Players, not because I want to direct, but just so I could understand the whole process better. I did also do a lot of the Center Stage script-in-hand things; I liked doing those a lot.