My passion has always been working in the theatre and giving back. I am so happy to announce that I was offered a development position at a non-profit organization that fights to make theatre accessible to everyone. I could go on and on about the mission that they serve, because it's one I so passionately believe in. While saying goodbye is going to be hard and change has never been easy for me, I'm so looking forward to the next to this new chapter in my life. I am forever grateful for my time here at TADA! and everyone I have worked with. TADA! was my first official job and I really learned so much about the biz but also about myself.
Throwing it back to my First Day
"Recently many people have been coming up to me and saying, “Why are you so obsessed with ‘The Heidi Chronicles’”? My answer is very simple. Wendy Wasserstein. Sociologist’s describe ‘Subgroups’ as a way for people to connect to one another. For example, if you run marathons you instantly feel a connection with someone else who runs marathons. Or if you and another person went to the same college, even if you never overlapped or are 20 years older or younger, you can still connect simply by your alma mater. Like Wendy Wasserstein, I went to Mount Holyoke College. She was the class of 1971, I was the class of 2014. Although she graduated 43 years before me, I feel a connection to her. A sense of sisterhood. Before Mount Holyoke, I didn’t know anything about who she was. When I was a little girl my dad, a drama teacher and director, brought me to Broadway shows and the shows he directed, we would dance around our living room to show tunes. Theatre has always been a part of my life. When I was a little girl my dad bought me a book “Pamela’s First Musical”, this was my favorite book as a child and he would read it to me every night before I went to sleep. This book was written by none other than Wendy Wasserstein.
Going to an all Women’s School, you are surrounded by incredible women who have made a great difference in the world. Many students would choose one or two people who inspired them. Even though I didn’t do any theater at Mount Holyoke once I graduated I found myself falling in love with theatre all over again and wanting to do something in theatre. Wendy was the person I turned to look up to. She was passionate about theatre and ahead of her time writing plays that broke boundaries, in my view the definition of a strong Mount Holyoke broad. She was the first woman to win a Tony for a play. “The Heidi Chronicles” was the first show of hers that I ever saw. It inspired me to go onto read more of her plays including “Isn’t it Romantic” and “Uncommon Women”. I could relate to how she wrote. I related to her characters even if they were written about women before my time. In addition to reading her plays, I read her memoir “Wendy and the lost boys” by Julie Salamon. After reading more about Wendy, I found myself connecting to her more and more. She made a difference in theatre, it was then that it clicked, so did I. I too wanted to make a difference in theatre.
During my first year in New York, I tried to find my way in this big daunting city. I finally figured out my dream job, working or starting a non-profit that gives children, who otherwise wouldn’t, the chance to see live theatre. Tonight while watching a speech Wendy was giving, I was surprised that she started a very similar campaign “Open Doors”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4NfclSNbiw
Over and over again people have often asked me “so what do you want to do in your life”. I have never been able to answer that question. But as of today I know what I want to do. I want to be part of an organization or non profit that gets children and teens to see live theatre.
Wendy put it quite simply, “Theatre is a very personal experience that grows in meaning and depth when shared with others.” and I want everyone to experience the same."
xo
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