I might have been the youngest clown in Anchorage at age four—Twinkle the Clown, with a little heart painted on my nose. Performing outdoors at the Fur Rendezvous in 1985, it was the glow of the lights, the bundled-up crowd, and the visible breath in the air that made me know I wanted that kind of magic forever.

I grew up painting with my mom, playing piano with my dad, and living deep in my imagination. Theatre carried me from middle school through college, and life took me further: studying Czech literature in Prague, building award-winning puppets in London, playing in a Portland rock band, climbing sandstone in Moab, teaching kids, helping run a music festival, and spending time in Ecuador. My dad—an adventurer working with communities around the world—brought me along on trips to Nicaragua, Burma, and beyond, until his life was cut short in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

That loss pulled me back to theatre—the place that has always felt like home. Since then, I’ve become a mom to the coolest kid, acted in a bunch of commercials, starred in an award-winning film, and returned fully to the stage, creating and collaborating in Portland since 2017. I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.