I started performing at age 11, singing with my dad and two older brothers in an a’capella quartet. We learned some songs to sing on a local barbershop show in southwest Michigan. When we finished everyone cheered and  I knew what I wanted to do with my life. That same year I performed in Cheaper By The Dozen and tagged along with my older siblings to rehearsals for Oklahoma!, Once Upon a Mattress and Damn Yankees.

Since then I’ve done more shows than I can count. I’ve been leads, characters, in the chorus, in the pit, back stage, in the booth, behind a spot light, you name it. I’ve toured in Europe, been a drummer in a rock band, sung at weddings and birthdays and through my tears at funerals. I’ve performed in grand halls, cathedrals and hospital rooms, even on a subway train.

It’s more than 40 years later and even though I’ve lost my dad, I got to sing with him a few weeks he passed. I’ve had a lot of wonderful teachers and learned not only how to sing and dance and act, but what a privilege it is to be allowed to perform for others, to share in the moments of their lives.

I finally found my way to New York at the age of 49. It took a long time, but here I am. I couldn’t be happier or more humbled. Eight years down and I have had some of the most amazing experiences I could have hoped for. After national tours, a regional shows, cruise contracts, cabarets, workshops and more auditions than I could have imagined I know I am in the right place.