Emily: Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute? Stage Manager: No. (Pause.) The saints and poets, maybe-they do some.

—Thornton Wilder, Our Town

To realize life I’m always interested in what the first impulse is for someone to pursue acting. I was lured into my first audition by the prospect of impressing girls. When I was only nine years old, I saw my older brother, John, kissing a girl in a high school play. This had to be in the back of my mind the first time I auditioned for a play entitled The Little Moon of Alban, directed by Dick Willis in high school. I didn’t get the part of the guy who kisses the girl, but I got the part of the guy who gets a big laugh, and that was even better. I was sold. I got the kiss after the show.