From the time I was about eight years old, I knew I wanted to work in theater. I am an oldest sibling and an oldest grandchild on my mother’s side and I distinctly remember all the backyard and basement performances I instigated with my brother and sister and all our cousins. I like telling people that what I do for work today looks almost the same as what I did as a kid at family gatherings.
My formal education began at Wheaton College in Norton, MA where I received a degree in Theater/English Dramatic Literature. From there I moved to New York City where I worked as an actress, singer and production manager with the Oberon Theater Ensemble, the Producer’s Club and The Creative Arts Team. I also studied voice with Ruth Williams Hennessy and acting at HB Studio. It was an exciting time in my life and an inspiring time to be living in New York City. But one of the mantras that I kept recalling from my training is that it is the responsibility of every artist to have the fullest, richest life possible. The sentiment being — a good life inspires good work. Made sense to me. So it got me to thinking about the kind of life I wanted and not just the kind of work I wanted.
I returned to RI, my home state, after three years in New York. I performed with the Courthouse Light Opera, North Kingstown Players, Rhode Island Theater Ensemble, The Community Players of Pawtucket, the Academy Players and City Nights Dinner Theater. Before meeting my husband and starting Experiments in Theater, I worked for three years as an office manager and production assistant with singer/songwriter/story teller (and Grammy Award Winner) Bill Harley. He and his wife, Debbie Block, run a successful record label out of their home in Seekonk, MA.
In many ways, my experience working with Bill and Deb’s family business served as a template for the life I have now, but it was my husband who encouraged me start my own company. Now I am a working mother, I love what I do, I’m happy with the work-life balance I’ve achieved and I am proud of my company. Besides enabling me to continue working in the theater, Experiments in Theater gives me the opportunity to be a part of education and child development. Through my classes and productions with Experiments in Theater, I am encouraging reading, language and speech development, reinforcing cooperative learning and building confidence in future generations.
I hope this website is helpful to you. If there’s anything that you think you should be able to find here but can’t, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Thank you for your interest and your support!
Miss Valerie
