Me & Kermit (and Jim)

I was born and raised on the upper west side of New York City to a Californian father and French mother, now divorced.

My curiosity for creativity sprung at the tender age of 4 when I met Kermit the frog, who I had a major crush on. Only recently did I figure out my true love was actually Jim Henson himself.

My grandmother, Phyllis Welch, a leading lady of Harold Lloyd, deeply influenced me to follow her into the world of acting. I landed my first professional job at 13 years old at my very first audition. After that, my parents wanted me to stay in school rather than be on set.

My Grandmother

Teenage years…

At 14 years old, I traveled across the country to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth: The Thacher School in Ojai, California. By far the most nurturing and mind expanding environment for a teenager.

First caught people’s attention at a parent’s weekend cabaret performing a monologue from Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan. Went on to play “Betty” in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, “Emily” in Thornton Wilder’s (a Thacher graduate!) Our Town, “Helena” in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and founded the school's only drama club.

College years…

Took a break from the acting bug to study philosophy at Colgate University. Didn’t care for the middle of nowhere social scene, so went abroad to Australia to study at the University of Wollongong for six months. Ended up staying for a year and a half. Yeah, I loved it.

As Joan of Arc

Returning from Australia really woke me up to what is important to me. On a whim, I auditioned for the student run Experimental Theatre Company (ETC) at Colgate. I beat the 2-1 odds and got cast. What an interesting group of folks those ETC kids were. Doing 30 plays in 60 minutes all written, directed, and acted by the ensemble really stretches one’s mind.

I dodged Colgate’s graduation ceremony to head over to St. Catherine's College at Oxford University to do an independent study of the philosophy of art and the philosophy of emotion. My last essay for school was on “what attracts people to being in love.” An enigma that still lingers today. There is nothing like reading the essay you just managed to print out to an Oxford don. You certainly learn how to take criticism with an open and willing mind!

London came after Oxford, where I delved into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). A fine place to pick up an RP accent and learn the mannerisms of the tea drinking British, whom I adore.

Now…

Drama school is like life therapy. You sort out your emotional crap, make some amazing friends, and truly discover what working hard is all about.

During the last few months at the William Esper Studio I got the itch to start my own thing. Founded the book group: once a month chit chat about a book from the school’s reading list, and got some folks together to start up a theatre company. We’re called Strings Attached Theater Company. We do new plays written by up and coming local playwrights. We had our debut show in the summer of 2007, which sold out every night!

Now? It’s all ambition and luck…