A Letter from Eleni
Many years ago, I was cast in a production of Claire Booth Luce's "The Women" at San Diego Rep, under the direction of the brilliant and innovative Anne Bogart. I was part of an ensemble of more than 20 articulate, interesting, unusual and talented women, many of us cast radically against "type." "Each and every one of you is a Diva," Anne said at our first meeting, and laughed out loud. What really struck me about Anne was how much she encouraged and embraced each and every one of us, in all of our diva-ness, in all of our uniqueness. She embraced everything that we were, and, amazingly enough, even encouraged us to dig deeper and be even more of whatever that was, both on and off stage. "Could be more," she would say, obliquely, with a knowing smile, in response to our queries about the progress of our work during rehearsals. And those words never felt like anything but a joyous challenge that I, for one, was always willing to embrace. Under Anne's guidance, I felt seen and heard and supported in my desire to reach my full potential as an actress and a singer-and really, as a human being. I strove to be the best I could be, using all of the talents I'd been blessed with.
I have never forgotten Anne, or her words, "could be more." In many ways, those words weave a strong thread through "Touch the Sky," my musical motivational keynote program. I created Touch the Sky! because I saw all around me the tendency for people-especially women-to settle for so much less than what they deserved or were capable of-in work, in life, in love. And I wanted to do my part to encourage people to reach for more so they could live more fulfilling lives.
The thing is, I know all about settling, because I did it for a long, long time. As a young actress, flinging myself into the scene in New York and Los Angeles, I was battered and bruised and cast aside time and time again because I didn't "fit." I was not your typical leading lady. In the words of the casting directors and directors who either rejected me or refused to see me in the first place, I was "too ethnic and exotic looking" and always "too tall." I didn't fit, and in trying so badly to fit, I clipped my own wings and crippled myself. It took a long time to realize that I could only move beyond limitations and obstacles if I accepted myself just as I was-all 72 inches of me. By accepting and deepening my uniqueness, and letting it find its own particular form of expression, I realized I could achieve my personal best on my own terms.
My choice to be "me, to the nth degree" opened doors for me in the acting community and got me work on stage and on film. But most importantly, it led me to create work for myself. I wrote and recorded three CDs, releasing them on my own recording label, EEK! Records-and then I shared my songs with audiences on concert stages all across North America. In time, I took my songs and stories to the speaking platform, evolving into a musical motivational keynote speaker and executive speech coach. My life exploded with color, colors from my own personal paint box. Anne was right: Could be more! And what an interesting ride it has been, exploring what "more" means to me!
My mission is to encourage others to be all they can be, by being all I can be-and that means using everything I've got in my toolkit: words, music and a lifetime of stagecraft.
I truly believe that by letting our individual light shine, we encourage others to let their own light shine.
So, shine on. And Touch the Sky!
