Road to CHICAGO - Lost and found

My friend Juliet Fischer-Schulein, who just completed the run of CHICAGO the Musical at Sacramento Music Circus as our "Go-To-Hell Kitty," has written a compelling essay about why we perform, how "the life" finds us, how we find it again and what it can mean.

Here's an excerpt:

My road to Chicago is at an end, and it has been a fabulous ride! I have gotten more out of this than I can possibly explain in words, but I will do my best.

This road actually started 10 years ago. The day I became a Mother was of course the best day of my life. But there was a massive change in my actual being. As an actor, we are by nature selfish, we have to be. We ARE the product we are selling, which is why we bore you to death with our resume or how fabulous we were in our last job. It’s the equivalent of you talking Insurance, Computers or what ever vocation you have chosen. But once you bring a child into this world, life ceases being about you. Everything, from a burp to a smile becomes about your baby, and rightfully so.

It was a change I was happy to make. Because the whole time I’m thinking in the back of my head that of course I’ll go back to performing. I just have to wait till the baby is a little older. And then they’re 3 and a second one comes along and again, I’m happy to wait. The shift happens gradually. You exchange your 3’ heels for flip flops. You go from ‘full beat’ makeup, to being happy if you put on chapstick. You go from dressing to the Nines, to….. well, just dressing. You exchange late nights and ‘show folks’ for suburbia and really nice ‘normal’ people.

Juliet Fischer was slowly packed away, and Juliet Schulein aka, Jackson and Cole’s mom became my identity. And I like her, I do! But it was like trying to fit in to a world of Penguins when your really a Peacock. I did my best to tone down and keep my feathers hidden. I didn’t always succeed, but I did pretty good. And then one day you look up and 10 years has gone by. The ‘comeback’ didn’t come.

I encourage you to read the rest of Juliet's story on her website here. I think it's pretty grown up and all that jazz. The lesson, as it seems to me, is: it's ok to have it all. It's ok to have the kids AND our dreams AND our passions. I think it's something everyone can think about.

Juliet made me look fab as the choreographer of CHICAGO. I can't thank her and the cast enough for bringing their talent and jumping in the sandbox with me. It was fun. Who says that about work very often?

p.s. can we talk about the picture above? When you've got a Porsche, you don't keep it in a garage... just saying...