Diane is an actor, writer, storyteller,  solo performer and speaker, born and raised in New York City, now a SF Bay Area 415 transplant.

 

After a career as a physician (Diagnostic Radiology), and the stroke that inspired this story, Diane stumbled into improvisation. (Thank you, Patricia Ryan Madson!)  

 

Wow! The magic trap door into the performance world opened.  After an     introduction to solo performance with W.Allen Taylor,    Diane discovered David Ford and The Marsh, where she developed My Stroke of Luck, her first show, and is developing Not One of Us, her new work.

 

Diane is a Meisner trained actor.  She completed The Summer Training Congress at The American Conservatory Theater, Spring Training Intensive at Berkeley Rep,  Personal Narratives, Global Identities Workshop with Anna Deveare Smith  and Dell'Arte School of Physical Theater  Bali Program. She has been inspired and guided by Ann Randolph.

 

Diane is also a graduate of Stanford University (AB Psychology) and Yale University School of Medicine, with post doc training at UCSF and Stanford.

 

A well compensated introvert, Diane is the proud mother of two adult sons, a young Shih Tzu-Husky  cross, and a young Bearded Collie.  Diane is also a silversmith and sculptor. She loves travel, animals, public speaking, creativity,  creatives, Fringing, performing, being alive and bravely facing down the final 30!

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My Stroke of Luck has appeared at sold out shows Off Broadway at the United Solo Theater Festival,  Fringe Festivals across North America, The LA Women's Theater Festival and the Atlanta Black Theater Festival.  My Stroke of Luck was extended multiple times at  The Marsh, San Francisco.

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After the murder of George Floyd, Diane wrote and performed Not One of Us, about the intersection of class, race, privilege, and gender in medicine in her life - in training and as a patient,  which premiered in 2021 at Playground Solo Performance Festival on Zoom.  Not One of Us has been presented for UCSF, Santa Clara Medical Center and at various Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs.

 

Her current work in progress is a multigenerational exploration of her ancestors, What We Carry.

Diane is a member of Solo Arts Heal Collective, a group of artists with inspiring true stories of overcoming adversity and becoming health advocates.