Living Resume
The acting bug was definitely hereditary — both of my parents were performers before me, so when I began to move towards the stage as a kid, I had great mentors and forever supporters. Primarily performing at South Bend Civic Theater in Indiana, I began with roles like Susan in “Miracle on 34th St,” the Ghost of Christmas Past in “A Christmas Carol,” and young Cosette in “Les Miserables.”
With seasoned VO veteran Debbie Grattan as my coach (and mom!), I soon made the jump to voiceover and commercial work. We stuck a hefty step stool in our home studio, so both Debbie and I could use the space without having to constantly reposition the microphone!
Beginning to graduate from exclusively child voices to tween and teen sounds, my voiceover work continued to expand. A spot for Indiana Michigan Power, which played around our community, was one of the first times I recall my voice being recognized while walking around school! Another highlight was the short TV show “The Cent$ables,” aimed at teaching children good financial habits. I got to play a villain in that — the nefarious Fangirl! — as well as a few background characters.
I continued performing on-stage as well, including in my first show with Musical Mission Tour, which became one of the most important experiences of my teen life, fueling my love for TYA and sharing stories with young audiences. Run by Clay Church, each MMT show was performed by local middle and high schoolers before touring to another part of the country, where we’d perform for children at Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, daycares and kindergartens. I loved the organization and experience so much that I performed with MMT 5 consecutive years, playing in the ensemble as well as in leading roles such as Belle, Mayzie LaBird, and Erzulie.
I continued my “Disney Princess Tour” in high school with Ariel and Princess Fiona, as well as roles like Mary in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Hodel in “Fiddler on the Roof.” I continued to find new opportunities behind the mic as well, including beginning work with Five Below as their primary in-store voice, and playing Trace in the online MMO “Strife.”
Between all of the performing, I somehow found plenty of time to study, and graduated top of my class with a 4.0 (one of 14 students), along with earning the National Merit Scholarship.
Go ‘Cats!!
I started my Freshman year at Northwestern University studying Theatre and English, and added the Theatre for Young Audiences module near the end of my first year.
I spent most of my time behind the scenes, working on the run crew for the mainstage production of “Fun Home,” and was set to ASM the Waa-Mu Show (the largest student-written and student-produced musical in the country!) along with assistant producing a short film when… we were all sent home due to COVID, all theatre productions cancelled or shoved online.
Despite all of the disappointment, I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve continued to have, even during the pandemic. I was able to help produce the PLAYground Festival of Fresh Works, which features three original TYA plays, written by working playwrights and directed/performed by students, along with stage managing two student-written productions, “Without Wings” (a TYA play about the tooth fairy world) and “When She Went to Mantua” (an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet”). I also worked with the faculty TYA folks at Imagine U to continue (and eventually become the primary student manager for) the Imagine U Storytime series, which featured weekly videos, activities, and songs for the Imagine U audiences over on YouTube.
And, of course, I’ve been able to continue my voiceover work during that time! Working both from our home studio in MI and from school, I’ve continued work with Five Below, Hobby Lobby, and BrainPOP (revamping the character of Cassie), and also lent my voice to an animated short film and a TV pilot (hopefully, more on that soon!)
A toast to my senior year at Northwestern! So many things to be grateful for this year, in addition to graduating in the Spring.
At Northwestern, I was the Education and Engagement Director for the Fall Imagine U Show, “Me… Jane,” based on the story of Jane Goodall. It was a wonderful experience leading a team of Teaching Artists and creating engaging pre-show and post-show content for the Evanston kids who came to the show — my favorite project was the “Dream Tree,” where audience members could write their dream on a paper leaf, to add to our growing paper tree on the window. Over the weekends of the run, it was so exciting to watch our tree grow!
I also have the honor of producing the PLAYground Festival for its 15th season, a beautiful full-circle back to my first year working on PLAYground, even during COVID.
I’ve also discovered a new passion in Stage Combat!! I’ve taken up classes at the Actor’s Gymnasium out of Piven Theater in Evanston, and am on to my third certification as of Winter 2022! I also hope to return this summer to the Bristol Renaissance Faire after an INCREDIBLE first summer working as part of the Fight Contingent on the RenQuest cast. Swordfighting before Her Majesty the Queen (while wearing my beloved silly hat) every weekend with three incredible fighters was about as amazing as it sounds!
In the Voiceover world, I’ve had the honor of working with some wonderful clients this year, including BrainPop, Hallmark, and Amazon Fashion. Also, remember that TV pilot I mentioned in the previous entry? That pilot released a trailer!! So very excited to follow the development in a project I’m so proud of and invested in — check out the trailer for MechWest on the main page of my website!
