My acting debut was at the age of 12 in a play for church. I had a lead role and the play was about being honest. I had some fairly long parts. I was fairly shy (surprise) growing up and I remember it being difficult and something I didn’t seek out but was asked or actually was assigned. I found that I am much more comfortable and enjoy very much being a spectator.
I did have some fun roles in ‘Road Shows’ when I lived in Van Nuys. Our youth group would put on a musical play every other year. It was called a Road Show because in the old days you would put it on at one church and then load all the sets, actors, props, etc, in trucks and cars and drive to another church and present it again that evening. But the name stuck even though we didn’t take it on the road any more. I had a lot of fun because I was a dancer in these plays. I was taking ballet lessons and loved to ‘move’.
One of my favorite ‘Road Show’ memories was when the six dancers, 3 guys and 3 girls (my sister Sharon was one of them) wore our costumes, these floaty jersey outfits, to a play at the Glendale Center Theater. The Hale family, now with a couple of theaters in Utah, ran the shows there and it was ‘theater in the round’. It was a fun evening and a great play.
As an audience participant, I went to a lot of plays in high school, college, and then on to professional theater. The Cedar City Shakespeare Festival has been a favorite destination over the years and although I haven’t gone every summer, my most recent visit was earlier this summer. I enjoy the Shakespeare with the mix of other plays and love the atmosphere at the festival. I attend theater and opera at the Capitol Theater, Kingsbury Hall and Hale Center Theater in Salt Lake City, the Utah Festival Opera in Logan and Tuacahn in St. George. Love a great play – drama, comedy, or musical.
