- Where you were born/where were you raised: Born in Wheaton, IL, but moved to Northfield, MN, Bowling Green, KY, Atlanta, GA, Oxford, UK, and Grand Rapid, MI. For grad school I moved to Columbus, OH.
- Zodiac sign: Capricorn. Just like Jesus.
- What are/were the careers of your parents: My folks are academics, my father in Philosophy and my mother in Spanish.
- Do you have any Siblings?: I have an older sister and younger brother. I have all the typical middle child symptoms.
Where were you trained?: I am quite grateful to the children's theatre programs at in the Northfield Arts Guild, including summer theatre day camps, improv, and the Young People's Theatre Travelling Troupe. Because of the last, I was co-writing and co-producing new adaptations and original works by the time I was twelve. Also, the Northfield Children's Chorus for teaching me good breathing techniques at an early age. I have a BA in Communications from Calvin College and spent a good deal of my time in the Calvin Theatre Company. I have an MA in Theatre History/Lit/Crit and an MFA in Acting from The Ohio State University.
Current favorite audition song or monologue to use: I'm fond of singing "The Girl in 14 G" by Jeanine Tesori, and "Life Upon the Wicked Stage," by Jerome Kern. For monologues, I do one from Desperate Affection by Bruce Graham, and House of Blue Leaves by John Guarre.
What skill(s) are you excited to share with the audience of Shockheaded Peter?: I'm always, ALWAYS excited to sing. But for this show, I'm hoping I get to do some acro. I've only ever done acro as part of circus act, not as part of storytelling or theatre yet.
- Why did you want to be a part of Shockheaded Peter? I first heard of it back in 2003 when Improbable Theatre (Phelim McDermott & Julian Crouch) did a residency at Ohio State. Their show The Hanging Man was one of the best I've ever seen. I was excited to do a creepy show with circus skills and singing. Also, I've wanted to work with Ed again ever since we worked on Scandalous Behavior. It seems like the timing finally worked out!
- If you could go back in time and catch any show or performer, what would it be? Sarah Bernhardt. Eleonora Duse. Isadora Duncan. Helene Weigel.
- Current or recent show in Chicago (other than Shockheaded Peter) that you think is must-see: London Assurance at City Lit was my most recent current show; we got Jeff Recommended! We were delighted to have found a play that Chicago wasn't seen in over a hundred years and made it a delightful romp.
- Favorite showtune(s) of all time: "You Should See Her Fly" from Fanatical! "I Heard Someone Crying" from The Secret Garden; "All Grown Up" from Bare; "Mama Who Bore Me" from Spring Awakening.
Some favorite musicals: Spelling Bee. Avenue Q. Urinetown. Fanatical! The Cradle Will Rock. The Three Penny Opera.
Most played song in your music collection: of all time? "Precious Things" by Tori Amos; "Glory Box" by Portishead. recently? "Your Loves Whore" by Wolf Alice; "Here" by Alessia Cara.
Favorite or most memorable onstage role as a child/teenager: Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden.
Worst onstage mishap: I was playing Paquette in Candide. Pangloss and I had a short scene where we ended up with him standing over me as though we were about to have sex; we had to freeze in that position while the focus was switched to another part of the stage. The actor playing Pangloss was bald and sweat dripped off his bald head and dripped right into my eyes and I couldn't move. I could only try to blink it away.
Worst costume ever: My wig playing Princess Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin Jr with Emerald City. It was painfully heavy and gave me headaches and neck aches. Opening performance, I was in a sequence where Jasmine is courted by suitors and rejects them. The bit required the actor playing the suitor to force me to tango and me to resist; during a turn, my enormous heavy wig came flying off my head. I caught it with my hand and held it to my head for the rest of the scene but the mishap still made into Chris Jones' review.
Worst job you ever had: I was managing the phones for a sprinkler system company. It was summer in the midwest. They were weeks behind and the customers were all frantic and angry. I was 16 and easily intimidated. The technicians all invariably insulted me and hit on me. The boss was impatient and angry. It was miserable.
- Craziest audition story: Callbacks for Be Twixt and Be Twain at The Human Race Theatre in Dayton in 2006. I drove up from Columbus and was feeling very odd and unpleasant. They kept us for hours, asking us to read again and again, and I worried that I would faint or vomit. Between readings, I would run to the bathroom wondering if I needed to pass out or throw up. They finally released us around 5 pm. I drove the 80 minutes back to Columbus, climbed up the back stairs of to my 3rd floor apartment, and vomited for several minutes, the vomit traveling all the way down to splatter on the ground. My apartment building was next to the premiere gay bar in Columbus and the drag queens out smoking in the back alley looked over and shook their heads at me. I did book the role.
- Role(s) you’ve been dying to play: Hotspur in Henry IV; George Washington in Hamilton; Claudia in Honor; Olive in Spelling Bee.
- What were you afraid of as a child? I think I allowed the media to tell me to be afraid of sharks, Freddy Krueger, serial killers. I let Fire Prevention week at school make me terrified of house fires. But I have this odd memory of being on a family vacation when I was 9. I was playing with other kids in the pool at a hotel. A boy about my age said, "What is your biggest fear? Mine is of being tortured" and then he proceeded to describe several hideous scenarios. He then asked again, "What's yours?" and I said, "Rejection, probably." I think he was disappointed. But damn, I was an old, sad, soul at 9.