Meet Melinda

"You're the funniest woman I've ever met."

~ Carl Labove, founding member of "The Outlaws of Comedy", actor, and one of the kindest humans I've ever met, RIP.

"You sucked the soul out of the room"

~ A TCU School of Medicine doctor after my portrayal of post-partum depression.

"You're not strong enough and should look into a different line of work."

~ My college acting professor.

Can't win 'em all, amiright?

After award winning careers in professional ballroom dance, event planning, and home organizing (plus a quick detour through performing arts marketing), I'm back to what I've always wanted to do - act.

And contrary to my college acting professor's belief, I don't suck at it.

So how did I become an actor? Especially with such an ~ahem~ less than supportive college theatre experience? 

Truth is…for a long time…I wasn’t. 

I've loved performing ever since I was little.

I don't remember anything about the first play I performed in other than it was in elementary school and they told me to be loud, so I was LOUD. 

And the audience laughed their ass off. 

Other kids were mad at me, which confused me because I was just doing as directed...but that laughter. Looking out at that laughing audience shocked me and made me SO HAPPY.

I then proceeded to work my way through many forms of the performing arts.

I played flute through middle and high school as well as a little in college. (Even had a music scholarship!)

I was on the dance team in college and afterwards became a professional ballroom dancer. 

Also in college I studied theatre but, even though I had great feedback from the community theatres I performed with, the very discouraging feedback from my acting professor made me quit acting. 

I changed majors and put that creativity towards a “normal” degree in advertising and public relations. 

But I could never truly stay away from the performing arts or entertainment in some form. 

After graduation, I became a professional ballroom dancer and teacher, always remembering how that acting professor made me feel and making sure that my students always felt supported in their dance goals. 

When it was time to leave dance, I went into event planning - putting my creativity and meticulous eye for detail to work to help people create the events of their dreams. 

(Which once meant single-handedly producing a Cirque du Soliel style show for a company picnic…that theatre background came in VERY handy for that event!) 

When I lost my job in the crash of 2008, I started my own event planning company, which a couple of years later morphed into a home organization company at the suggestion of a friend who thought I’d rock at it. 

She was right. 

Turns out, a lot of people loved hearing showtunes while clearing out their clutter. Anything to entertain my clients and make the mundane tasks more fun and enjoyable! 

Then one day, in the midst of my organizing business, I got an email that lit a spark that slowly revealed my road back to acting! 

It was a sweet little supernumerary part with Fort Worth Opera. 

They continued to cast me season after season, which rekindled my love of performance and made me realize how much I MISSED it! 

(Also, nothing like having fantastically talented professional performers tell you how good you are to help you push past a prior acting professor’s dismissal.) 

I wasn’t sure what it would look like yet, but I knew in my multi-hyphenate existence (dancer-event planner-home organizer-writer-entrepreneur) I wanted to add “actor” back to that list! 

And I did! 

Although I’d have NEVER guessed it would’ve been through medicine! 

When I first found the Standardized Patient listing, I applied on a whim. After all, the listing was in a Facebook group so I wasn’t sure how real it was. 

(Standardized Patient = real acting job as a fake patient to real medical students so they can practice their newly forming medical skills!) 

Not only was it real…it turned out to be fabulous! 

My first boss is an incredible director and very supportive. When I told her about my acting professor, she said that the professor was wrong, and that I’m quite good and very easy to direct. 

(She also said I had a memory that was “so good it’s scary. It’s a steel trap!” Any of my former clients and colleagues from my event planning days would agree!) 

Students have told me that I’m so “in it” during our encounters (what we call our mock doctor visits) that they’ve sometimes forgotten they were doing a simulation.

Once a student asked if I could teach her to cry like I can! 

Most importantly, it’s an honor to watch them grow into who they’ll be as doctors, as well as encourage them in their dreams in the ways I wasn’t encouraged when I was their age. As well as represent the patients they’ll one day treat, so that they’ll provide those people with an excellent medical experience.

While I’m not onstage as often as I’d like to be, this audience is more fulfilling than being on a stage in front of a thousand. 

When I’m not performing for a tiny but mighty audience of students and faculty, I can be found practicing flute - which I picked back up during the plague and soon I’ll start playing with the Fort Worth Medical Flute Choir. 

I’ve also picked up extra roles here and there so as I do more extra work, you'll be about to find me in the background of movies and TV shows like a blurry Where's Waldo. (I'm currently only two degrees from Kevin Bacon.) 

In my free time, I love to drink coffee and crochet while watching cult documentaries (#CoffeeCultsAndCrochet #ILoveAlliteration). It’s a hobby I started during the pandemic and kept going because it brings me great joy…and cuddly sweaters! 

I also enjoy cursing, indulgent foods, and champagne.

And not necessarily in that order!