It all started at San Diego Junior Theatre
in 1977. Kevin and I lived near each other and our mothers decided to
carpool. It was a day that will live in infamy! We laughed and joked all
the way to acting class. On my 16th birthday, I received a 1970 Dodge
Challenger -- one of the best muscle cars ever made! From then on, Kevin
and I rode together. We spent our teen years driving, raising hell and
getting kicked out of one after another Junior Theatre class.
Then,
as our acting careers were to be consigned to the trash heap, one
teacher said, "I'll take them. How bad can they be?" And that is how we
met DJ Sullivan,
a woman who would change our lives for the better -- for ever. DJ was
just full of love. From the first time she met us, we felt welcome. The
class was the most advanced one at Junior Theatre at that time and all
kinds of restrictions had to be waived for us to get in to it and -- for
the record -- though we didn't know how bad we had it at Junior
Theatre, we succeeded with flying colors.
We
became quite good at acting, once given the skills, the encouragement,
and healthy competition from the kids in the class. Some of those kids
included Brian Mitchell, Christian Hoff, Daren Scott
and many, many others. One of the greatest things about DJ was that she
was a working actor. In fact, she spent 1/2 her time in Los Angeles and
was always working on great projects with great people. And, when she
couldn't be at class, she had these great actors and comedians fill in
for her.
DJ
also taught an adult class that Kevin and I were asked to join after an
apprenticeship. There we met all the great actors in San Diego and
became adept at acting the Michael Shurtleff
method. DJ was the first of Michael's disciples and taught us so much
about acting, life, love and theatre that we will forever be eternally
grateful. Thanks, DJ!
As
the years went by, Kevin went in and out of acting. He was always one
of the most talented actors I knew but could never seem to get a career
going. He got into arts administration and worked all over the place in
San Diego, finally becoming Executive Director of City Moves! a dance
education organization. I gave up acting in the late 80s and moved all
over the country in search of a career. I landed at a top literary
agency in New York, which I cannot mention, and worked for a person whom
I also cannot mention. The best I can tell you is that I left for my
health. I have since done many things, including breeding Chinook Dogs,
teaching special education and dabbling in real estate.
I
am now semi-retired but Kevin brought me back into the business because
he has become quite the dramatist. We hadn't seen each other in years
when I read that one of his plays was going to be read. I saw the play,
reunited with Kevin, and decided to represent him in 2008. I know you'll
like his work as I do.
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