Hello,
I’m an actress, educator, director, collaborator, and all-around idea gal. I hail from Arkansas, where I attended the Youth Theatre of Central Arkansas for six seasons and went on to graduate from the University of Central Arkansas with a BA in Theatre and Creative Writing. While at UCA, I was nominated for, and won, the Kennedy Center American College National Irene Ryan award and a Williamstown Theatre scholarship in 2001.
From there, I went on to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting and was the youngest person accepted to the Old Globe Graduate Training Program. There, I worked with directors like Dan Sullivan, Darko Tresnjak, John Rando, Jack O’Brien, and Seret Scott. (I wish there were more women in there, but—we’re working on it.) From there, I moved to New York City. My first gig in New York was understudying Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel off-Broadway, starring Viola Davis. (I have a great story about that I can tell you later.)
I’ve gone on to cast a wide net in regional theatres across the country, spending three years at the Denver Center, returning to the Old Globe, creating a strong body of work at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, becoming a member of the Artistic Collective at the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, and am honored to be one of “40 Seasons/40 Actors” recognized by the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. I’ve been privileged to find many artistic homes over the course of 20 years working professionally as an AEA and SAG member.
In New York, I served as the acting and audition coach in residence at The Drama Bookshop for about three years. I appeared on Broadway as The Woman in The 39 Steps, and off-Broadway as Laura Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ The Pretty Trap, and spent a fair amount of my time helping to develop new plays and experimental works with downtown companies such as Hoi Polloi, collaborating with artists like Alec Duffy, Mimi Lien, Dave Malloy, and Mona Mansour. I spent five years as the recurring character June Thompson on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and was nominated for a Best Ensemble SAG Award.
In 2018, I was delighted to become an Assistant Professor of Acting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I’m excited by the students and faculty and the good work we are doing at the Krannert Center and across the globe. I continue acting in theatre and television, and live in Urbana, IL with my husband, our boy, and a very enthusiastic puppy.
