I Wrote This Because I Don't Have an Assistant
Born in Sacramento and raised in Reno and Las Vegas, I'm a lover of leopard print and the sweet sound of quarters sloshing into plastic buckets. Jackpot, baby. I moved between those cities 16 times by the time I was in high school, not because we were being chased by the mob, but because my mom was a tad crazy and my dad sold casinos. (I believe this is how most Charlotte Bronte novels begin.)
I went to Reno High School (coming up with names is one of Nevada's greatest strengths) and was an overachiever; I did every possible extracurricular activity in hopes of getting scholarships so I could get the hell out of Reno. My hard work paid off and I headed to the University of Southern California on a hefty scholarship and earned a dual degree in Theatre and Political Science—the perfect union of majors to work for The Daily Show… or a restaurant.
I also attended the British American Drama Academy in London where I studied Shakespearean acting in a conservatory setting. One of my chain-smoking, terrifying, and Juilliard trained acting professors, laughed himself to tears due to a rather bold choice I made while playing the 'Nurse' in Romeo and Juliet. He said I had the, “gift of wit.” That is still the best compliment I’ve ever received, aside from Florence Henderson saying I was, “sooo skinny.”
After graduation, I doubled down on my, "gift of wit," by attending improvisation and sketch comedy classes at iO West and the Groundlings. I also acted in theater productions… a lot of theater productions. I was a founding member of Unknown Theater; a non-profit group that raised $90,000 before we even had a space. We received numerous glowing reviews, putting us on track to compete with full-Equity theaters and rekindle the mostly hit-and-miss Los Angeles theater community. Unfortunately, the theater did not remain on that path. That experience showed me the true value of teamwork, ensemble, and the most valuable lesson of all: letting go.
I was on the house sketch teams, The Cover Up and Drug Money, at iO West, as well as improv groups Hey Neighbor and Blank Label. I'm currently on a house long form improv team at Second City, Brother Bradley and a house sketch team at The Ruby, The Volcano, and the house improv team a Flappers comedy club in Burbank. I've done hundreds and hundreds of shows over the years and only one audience member puked in the aisle. #winning
Born from this improv experience came, VOMIT!. We were a two-woman comedy band and became regulars at the Improv and Laugh Factory and most important of all, got a development deal to pitch our own TV show. It was an amazing and fantastic training ground for how television gets created.
I decided to explore some of that other-side-of-the-camera learning I gained while we were pitching VOMIT. I previously worked as a personal assistant for a few celebrities, so I understood pain and suffering; I quickly understood how this skill is a natural fit for production. Making film and television below the line involves long hours, lots of energy, and mad organizational skills. In addition to being SAG-AFTRA, I also became a Teamster. That has generally been pretty weird.
I’ve had my head blown off in Rubber, been bitchy and creepy on General Hospital, been in black and white on Teachers, been everything from lingerie clad to an angry Trump supporter on Conan O'Brien, and can't wait to do all of that again and again, but bigger, faster, and funnier.
