My husband and I had our first kiss on stage in our high school production of My Fair Lady. After he passed away, I found a ticket from that show in his wallet.

The applause after "A Musical" in Something Rotten for the opening night after pandemic delays and the new space was prepared. It was very difficult to not cry with the energy and the full two minutes of a standing ovation for a number in the middle of Act 1. After all of the time off for the Pandemic. The energy for the show that night was something that I had never felt before and haven't felt since. We were truly a family that evening and in that moment. I will ALWAYS cherish that. One of the best roles, best shows, and one of the best moments of theatre in my life by far.

Back in 2003, I auditioned for a production of Twelfth Night at a Peoria, Illinois community theater. I’d been in town for about two years, had done one show there already, and couldn’t pass up an opportunity to do Shakespeare. I got cast as Malvolio, which was awesome. But I also met and started dating the actress playing Olivia. Spoiler Alert: We’re married now.

Playing a munchkin in the wizard of oz and everything since . But most importantly getting to spend my life with Jamie doing what he loves . Today we should remember those who give their life and countless hours of their time to provide everyone else a place to have fun , especially in community theatres.

While I’ve done many shows at TA, the recent production of Titanic will always be one of the special ones. I think the fact that we were playing real individuals who lived the nightmare of the sinking of the ship, made the show extra special for all of us. It’s a humble experience when you portray a real-life person.

All the fun shows of Rocky Horror I have played and look forward to playing again in October. I was introduced to this theater with the first performance and was hooked ever since.

My greatest theatre experience, and this having been involved in theatre since playing the top point of the Christmas star in my 1st grade play and having a bachelor’s degree in theatre, has been watching my now 21 year old son Ben perform in multiple shows at TA and KLT, and being fully accepted for the quirky, funny, sensitive weirdo he is! Special thanks to his theatre parents, Jenny Lawrence and John C. Wilson., and Seph Schonekas , Gray Smith, and Jamie Lawson for being such great role models.