I’m a Little Theatre Kid

I was the little theatre kid who wore out his VHS copy of Into the Woods from rewatching Bernadette Peters sing "Last Midnight," while twirling around with a bed sheet as a cape. I was the same little theatre kid who was devastated when Norma Desmond arrived on Broadway as anyone other than Patti LuPone, and boycotted the production (that is… until Betty Buckley took over, of course).

I went to Northwestern where I studied music, then got my MFA in Acting from The Old Globe/USD program in San Diego. Performing led to writing and composing and the good fortune of joining the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.

It wasn’t until the pandemic hit however, that I picked up a pen for the very first time… and started to draw. What emerged, day after day, was this little kid—innocent, whimsical, and delightfully theatrical. It took weeks to realize that I was drawing myself—that little Patti-worshipping, set-design-loving, Sondheim-obsessed child.

I hadn’t been aware until we’d reconnected, that I had lost touch with my younger self... but he had been there, patiently waiting for me. And when I saw him again, I realized he is the reason I do everything. He’s why I write musicals with leading roles for women (…my inner theatre kid wants to work with the legendary divas). He’s why I create high school musicals that have tons of opportunities for young performers (he wanted a better part in high school). He is the link to everything I want to pursue, and though he is most evident in my drawings, he exists in everything I touch.

The Little Theatre Kid illustrations are my way of celebrating that pure, unbridled love of theatre. Each drawing, print, and greeting card is an invitation to remember your own theatrical heart—the one that still leaps at the sound of the Merrily We Roll Along overture or the dimming of house lights. And reconnecting with that child is vital because the work we create today, produces the next generation of little theatre kids.

Photograph by Stephen Mack