Stony Brook is a phenomenal university and I am proud to be affiliated with it, so it is gratifying to be able to support this wonderful institution in whatever way I can.
My work in the theater began to shift more towards young audience type of work and education programs for children, arts education programs.
My background is in arts education and we know, absolutely for a fact, that there is no better way for kids to learn critical thinking skills, communication skills, things like empathy and tolerance. This is true across every boundary, across cultural boundaries, across socioeconomic, it's a great leveler in terms of unifying our world.
The arts give kids the building blocks with which to then play.
Mom was never self-pitying. She was ferociously focused on making sure that everyone understood that she knew how fortunate she has been.
With my mother, Julie Andrews Edwards, I've authored such children's books as the 'Dumpy the Dump Truck' series, 'Dragon: Hound of Honor,' 'The Great American Mousical,' 'Simeon's Gift' and 'Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother and Child.'
Yeah, I think the arts and literature have always been irrevocably connected. Because if you think about it, every film script, every play, every song starts as words on the page before it is ever performed or filmed or sung.
Sometime in my 20s, a wise mentor said something that dramatically changed my outlook and that has stayed with me ever since. She told me to 'wear the mantle with dignity and pride.'
When I was three years old, a nanny took me shopping and I saw large cut-outs of Mary Poppins in the store and yelled, 'That's mummy!' These women walked by and said, 'Oh how cute. That little girl thinks that Mary Poppins is her mum.'
I have a picture of me sitting on the step of a brownstone stoop with my mom and all the Muppets around us. And Perry Como, for some reason.
I have a transgender nephew on my father's side of the family. So I'm extremely aware of how important it is to support and advocate for young people who are experiencing that in their lives.
My husband, Steve Hamilton - an actor/producer and co-Director of the Southampton Playwriting Conference - and I had been working in the theatre in New York for many years.
Stay strong. Stay true to yourself and to who you are because there is community out there. It may not be in your town or perhaps even in your family, but you are wanted and you are loved and there are places in the world where you will be safe and supported.
