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Sometimes
flaws can tell you as much about a person as their accomplishments.
Accomplishments,
by definition, are easily touted. I have spent the better part of
an afternoon trying to find fault in this person. OK, no one’s
perfect, but I’m hard pressed to find any dirt.
Across
the table sits a remarkable woman. She shies away from the question
of her age, but only because it is that age that everyone dreads
somewhat. In her young life, she graduated summa cum laude from
Columbia College in Chicago, has modeled for such accounts as Diet
Pepsi, McDonald’s and Universal Pictures, and has worked in
several films, including "Ground Hog Day" with Bill Murray
and Andie McDowell, and Mad Dog and Glory" with Robert Deniro
and Bill Murray.
She
sings with a band, and is now branching into the natural extension
of music composition. Five months ago she was elected to the Board
of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
-- the people who give pout the Grammy Awards.
In
that capacity, she developed a program which she will bring to her
alma mater, Warren Township High School on Nov. 16. The program
-- Grammy in the Schools -- will bring a wide range of musicians,
recording engineers, television and radio production personnel to
the school to offer behind-the-scene insights into the recording
and film arts.
"It’s
startling to me that people will come and spend the day with the
kids for free, just because I ask them, the Lake Forest native,
now living in Wildwood, says. "But I want to give students
some opportunities that I never had growing up."
Those opportunities will include the involvement of a number of
industry notables, so far including Donny Osmond, most recently
noted for his role in "Joseph and the Amazing Color Dreamcoat,"
and the rock band Survivor.
Other
professionals include Damon Booth, of ASCAP, to discuss music publishing
an royalties; J. Spencer Greene from Chicago’s Famous Door
Theater onstage and screen design; Carol Freeman, graphic artist
and album cover design artist; Jay B., Ross, entertainment attorney;
Mike Caplan, weatherman for WLS-TV; composer James Mack; and music
video director Lou Antonelli. Several of the participants are fellow
graduates of the high school.
The
program has met with such interest that it is likely to become the
model for similar programs throughout the nation. Other schools
are already interested in it, and it has yet to actually occur.
At
least part of her own success comes from a decent bit of luck, a
healthy does of talent and being in the right place at the right
time -- sort of the Forrest Gump school of career management.
"My
life has been a tapestry," she says, alluding also to one of
her favorite songs by Carole King. "Balance is something that’s
really important for me."
That balance has led, obviously, to a very extensive resume. But
if there were a unifying theme, she says, it would be music.
"Music
is the beginning and the end for me, "she says. In college,
she supported herself by performing full-time. Later, her efforts
led her to Vegas where she performed at Caesar’s Palace and
other noted venues. "In Vegas, as a performer, I learned more
about performing than anywhere else."
"I’m
way beyond my first goals," she says, laughing. "Really,
all I wanted was t get to sing one song with a band on stage."
She
cites a survey conducted by SAG-AFTRA, the national union for virtually
all performing artists, which indicated that only eight percent
of the members of the union could support themselves by their art.
"I
am a working performer -- I’m really amazed I’m part of
that eight percent, "she says. "Everything else is strawberry
shortcake."
It’s
that eight percent, though, that motivates her to offer students
a glimpse of the myriad possibilities of jobs within the performing
arts -- you don’t have to be the star to be successful, she
says.
"There’s
really no mentor for what I’m doing," she says. "You
have to pave your own way."
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