I went to NYU drama school after having spent most of my life immersed in theater. I didn't survive my first year of attempted professional versus amateur craft.

As a woman I was beginning to meet more and more male gatekeepers that were not going by any meritocracy but by favors given.Turned down several gigs because sexual favors were required up front, but also got it in other ways. A gay show director gave a part to someone else that he just liked more. The whole cast took me out for drinks, including the woman who got the part, who asked me to record my version she'd heard during auditions, mine was better and she wanted to duplicate it. I did.

Also, actors are not in general sane people. My instructors and my classmates were wrecks of human beings in motivation and character.

I dropped out.

I'm a writer now, and I brought along a ton of great acting training and advice to help create my characters, probably couldn't be as good at that unless I'd gone far down that road, so I don't regret getting the craft, I just couldn't survive the process.

Wasn't going to pay the tolls, couldn't pass, realized it wasn't a meritocracy and if I wanted to not auction off strips of my soul like some flayed-skin scarf dance, I needed to choose something else.