Of Cupcakes and Curtain Calls

I took an unconventional path on my way to a life in the theatre: I ended up working in the arts because I first worked in a bakery. 

Let me back up a bit. 

As a high school student, I was a total over-achiever. I was (and still am) a self-described top nerd. Being an over-achiever, it wasn't enough to enroll in Honors and AP classes and join every extra-curricular club in existence. I had to get a part time job, too. Not because I desperately needed the cash. I just thought it would be a good thing to do for some reason.

I spent a few afternoons pounding the pavement, asking local businesses if they needed any after-school employees, and running into quite a few dead ends.

Eventually, I wandered into a new business: Kudzu Bakery. Oddly enough, it was owned by the son and daughter-in-law of my former elementary school's secretary. In a small Southern town, knowing someone's mama means a potential employer will take a second look at your application, and sure enough I got hired.

The owners, Joey and Stacy Rabon, moved from Los Angeles to my little hometown in South Carolina because they had two small kids and wanted to raise them near family. Joey was trained as a chef. Since restaurants require a ton of evening hours, the Rabons decided a bakery might have a more humane work schedule.

Stacy, in addition to plenty of training in the restaurant biz, trained as a serious actress at the Strasberg Institute. Even though she left L.A. behind, she was still interested in acting which is why she joined our local community theatre and, eventually, brought me along with her.

I'll spare you my long resume from my time at that theatre. Suffice it to say that I did just about every job they would allow me to do. During one season, I think I stage managed every single show they produced. Why a bunch of adults decided it was a good idea to let a sixteen-year-old have so much responsibility is beyond me, but I'm grateful to them for the experience. (I should also add that I did a mighty fine job with all that responsibility, being a top nerd and all.)

Two degrees and many years later, I'm still working away in the theatre and in the kitchen. Thanks to an after-school job baking pies and cakes, I've found a career that's pretty rewarding. Hopefully I'll manage to inspire my students the way the folks at Kudzu Bakery inspired me. If nothing else, I can promise you that my students get their fill of cupcakes and cookies. Old habits die hard.

You can enjoy Leslie's students in The Theatre of Western Springs' upcoming production of The Shakespeare Stealer which opens May 10th.