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about me

(I hate writing about myself)

I began performing on the living room staircase landing of my childhood home for a packed audience of family and other party guests.  By the age of 8, my mother would pick me up from school everyday and navigate her brown Mazda all over NYC, driving from audition to audition.  I soon was cast in nationwide television commercials, industry showcases, and eventually, co-starred alongside the Rockettes and the camels on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, performing in the Christmas Spectacular for several years.  My passion for theatre and music continued to grow throughout high school, and I pursued a professional music career after college.  At the age of 24, I auditioned in Washington D.C. for Season 4 of American Idol, where I progressed to the semi-finalist round.  With the help of my appearances on American Idol, I was invited to share the stage with musicians such as Carrie Underwood, The Jonas Brothers, Melba Moore, and the late Marvin Hamlisch.

 My love of theatre and performing has led to appearances in regional theatre productions, as well as featuring as a guest artist at concerts and cabarets around the NY/NJ  areas. I have written and headlined my own cabaret shows throughout NYC, performing at venues such as The Green Room 42, The Duplex, The Metropolitan Room, and The Triad. For over a decade, I have also been affiliated with the Miss America Organization, where I co-hosted, performed, and later, directed the Miss New Jersey Pageant Production.

Aside from my love of performing, I am equally passionate about directing for the stage. As a New York City based director, I have experience in directing both straight plays and musicals, and I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunities to collaborate with some of the most sought out designers in the NYC area. I acted as the Associate Director for a fundraising event for The Actor's Fund, starring Gavin Lee and Sierra Boggess.  In 2020,  I served as the assistant to Gabriel Stelian-Shanks on "DirectorFest", a month long award winning directing festival, sponsored by The Drama League in NYC.

Music has always remained a source of joy in my career and in my life - specifically arranging. I have released three self-produced albums: pop/jazz/gospel arrangements of pop songs throughout the decades, "You Gotta Be" (2021), a holiday album, "There's Still My Joy" (2021), a collection of musical theatre covers, "Being Alive" (2022), and a second holiday album was released in December 2023, "Comin' Home for Christmas".

I hold a B.A. in Music Performance and an M.A. in Theatre Studies/Directing.  Throughout the last decade, I've had the pleasure of leading award-winning educational theatre arts programs throughout the Tri-State area.  Currently, I serve as the Director of the Musical Theatre Department for the highly competitive High Tech Academy for the Performing Arts in Hudson County, NJ.

I am a proud associate member of the SDC; I continue to teach workshops and master classes in the performing arts, while simultaneously pursuing professional directing/teaching opportunities in the theatre community, in high school performing arts programs, and in post-secondary education.  My specific areas of interest are in conceptual direction, contemporary musical theatre, acting the song, audition technique, musical theatre history, musical theatre theory, and reimagining classic musical theatre for our time.   My direction is deeply inspired by the poetic realism of Tennessee Williams, John Doyle, and Rachel Chavkin.

All my other interests in life are fairly simple... I enjoy my jeep, the beach, seeing live music and theatre, a hike in the woods, dogs, capuchin monkeys, pizza, coffee, and a frozen cocktail.  What I love above all else is the investigation into the psychology of the human condition; telling stories of both joy and suffering, giving voice to the voiceless, and treating all with kindness and empathy - it is the foundation of how I approach my work, and it is what I expect from others in return.  

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