At a neighborhood settlement house, The Elizabeth Peabody Playhouse, I saw my first play. It was a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore," and I marveled at the wonderful combination of words, movement, and music. I was amazed at the ability of the performers.

When I was cast as "Hansel" in "Hansel & Gretel," to be played on the same stage, the work began. Piece by piece, line by line, movement by movement, I was coached, pushed, cajoled and trained up to performance level. I went through the several performances of that production without ever thinking of, or understanding, the concept of "stage fright." To this day, I have known "stage fright" only when I have been insufficiently prepared for the evening of the performance. That's the secret ... hours and hours, days and weeks of preparation.