I took voice lessons which made me a little light-headed (and I was afraid of the voice teacher's growling, drooling Doberman) and both saxophone and piano, neither of which I ever practiced. I faked a sprained ankle to get out of the recital. I liked the freedom of wearing all that grease-paint-I could be as wacky and un-cool as I wanted. In seventh grade I started taking magic lessons, and by eighth grade I was making all my own spending money by performing at kids' birthday parties as a clown named Tallulah. Waiting backstage before curtain call, after giving my all in a performance, was the best feeling I knew.

I didn't care -I just wanted to be on stage. I played Peter Pan, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and lots of extremely memorable chorus parts-for instance, I was 'girl number two' in Fiddler on the Roof-the one who said 'We heard about your sister, Chava'. Some details, I do know-I was very into reading and theater, so I read every book I could get my hands on (especially realistic fiction, either contemporary or historical) and took acting workshops and auditioned for every play in school, camp, or the community. (And down the street from my future husband, though of course I didn't know that until much later.)

I was born on July 25, 1966, in NEW YORK CITY, and grew up in New Rochelle, NY, with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jon.

Legend by katy evans