Her Story

I was born and raised in a small town of 6000 in southwestern Pennsylvania. My father was a barber and I spent many hours on his green and white cold metal chairs, listening to the tales of men and women who visited during the course of the day, including Tangles, Harlem, Mushy, Jenny Boo Boo, and Cokie. I couldn’t make this up! Unfolding on any given day was a cast of characters in a plethora of whimsical events, for which, my father unknowingly gave me a lifetime appreciation. He also instilled in me a love of reading books, where I discovered a different genre of storytelling. My first exposure to storytelling was through the written word, as I became interested in writing about those barber chair observations. His mother and my grandmother, was known for her oratory skills and I like to believe that her blood trickles through my veins from time to time.

I was always wired for movement from dancing to my sister’s 45s on our living room floor to high school cheerleading. When I reflect back on activities I embraced, or events that were most memorable to me, whether it was a concert by South African musician Johnny Clegg or a performance by dance troupe Momix, they all contained one common element… physical elegance.

In the 1990s, I had the great opportunity to see the late mime master, Marcel Marceau perform in Los Angeles. Although he was in his 70s, from where I sat, I saw a youthful body in command of his performance. At home that night, I attempted to imitate his movements. I was surprised at my ability to, without training, come close to what I believed I had witnessed on stage by the master himself. Thus began my voyage into the world of movement and mime, which included workshops with some of the greatest in movement, including the great and late Tony Montanaro at Celebration Barn in South Paris, Maine.

The pivotal point in my journey, however, was when I went to see my first show of Washington D.C.’s then Stanislavsky Theater. I was blown away by the highly physical performance of Paata Tsikurishvili, a recent immigrant from the country of Georgia. I was so inspired that I called Paata and asked if he could work with me. A busy performer, he initially said no. Patience paid off, when a couple years later, I attended one of his children’s productions. There, I saw that master classes with Paata were being offered. As luck and synchronicity would have it, Paata at this very moment was leaving Stanislavsky to start his own company, now the widely acclaimed Synetic Theater in Washington, DC. With Paata now freer and in need of start up funds, and having now seen my movement skills in the master class, I asked again. The answer was a resounding “Yes!”. I will forever be grateful to those who so graciously imparted their wisdom to me.