BIO

"I've lived most of my life in the land of hustle. Geographically, that's NY, LA, and TO. Specifically, it's in the eye of the entertainment storm. I started out in the “hotbed” of acting at the prestigious Actors' Studio. Anyone who denies that title is unaware of theatrical history, for history it was and is. I am more than proud to have been an integral part of it in its heyday, where Laurence Olivier sat among us, a few rows from Marilyn Monroe, and a few rows back from them were the other “somebodies”, and finally, us “nobodies”!  I progressed from the twice weekly acting sessions with Lee Strasberg to being one of a handful of women in the Directors' Unit headed by Elia Kazan. I was ultimately invited by Edward Albee to succeed him as Moderator of the Playwrights’ Unit, where I had the privilege of bringing actors’ exercises to the writers there, one of whom was my mentor, the late great James Baldwin. Hard work was never so much fun!"

"Later, I was invited to “spread the Word” in Canada. I wrote theatre/film reviews for the Toronto Star and became the first film critic on Canadian television (CBC). There is a long list of “firsts”, but at the top was the opportunity for me to create and conduct “The Ensemble Workshop” (under the auspices of the National Film Board) for writers, actors, directors, and producers based on the principles of the Actors’ Studio. Since then, I’ve extended my teaching to include everybody from teachers, to lawyers, to business executives - and even one stockbroker (who happened to be a woman!)  Out of all that exploration, I decided to write a book and share my discoveries. The title says it all: Actors’ Exercises for Everybody. 

"Alongside the grants, nominations and awards, I'm also proud of always having been a devout activist: for civil rights, women’s rights, animal rights; and against the Vietnam war, the first Gulf war and the Iraqi war. Growing up in the South, I learned a profound statement:

 'Someday, there will be a war, and no one will come.'

An American in Canada,