Mary-Anne Sullivan:
CLASS OF 1970
Groveton High SchoolClass of 1970
Alexandria, VA
Red Rock Elementary SchoolClass of 1966
Red rock, AZ
American Community High SchoolClass of 1964
Saigon,
St. Mary's Elementary SchoolClass of 1962
Alexandria, VA
Dominican SchoolClass of 1960
Taipei,
Mary-Anne's Story
WISHING EVERYONE HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2017!
UPDATE DEC 2016: My significant other Todd and I sold our condo in NoVA July 2016. We purchased and moved to our retirement home in Evans, Georgia just outside Augusta. Actually, Todd is still working for now (telecommuting from home), but we wanted to head south below the snow belt while the going was good. We both receive military retirement benefits and Evans is very close to Ft. Gordon. You have to think pragmatically as you head into the "retirement" years. I left the government many years ago, and resigned to take care of family, so technically I am not officially retired, but I decided to stop my contract Theater Arts instructing about 3 years ago after neck surgery- just needed a break during the long recovery and never went back. Maybe I'll resume again down in Evans if I get the urge sometime in future. I have been visiting Augusta all my life since my Aunt's family made a home here and I have cousins in the area I've happily reconnected with now. The last active Theater idid was directing Julius Caesar in Oct 2015. I was too busy prepping our condo for sale, packing, moving and unpacking with all the attendant worries that go with transitioning to a new/slower life. BUT! Now I'll have time to get back to writing. It's hot in Georgia- this past August just after our move here was terrible, but I'll trade the heat and humidity for the bitter cold, ice and snow in VA. Life pace is slower down here and folks are - well- folksier, but nice and treat those senior to them with a little bit more kindness and respect than I was used to up in the DC metro area. So. That's the plan. Hope everyone has a wonderful 2017 and enjoys health, success and happiness!!
UPDATE NOV 2015: Just completed directing PWLT's Fall production Julius Caesar. Wow & Whew! Huge project that turned out really well mixing film, projections, music and singing (yes singing) with the classic Shakespearean tragedy. Superb cast and crew.
UPDATE NOV 2014: Directed Blithe Spirit for Prince Wm Little Theatre in NoVa. Great reviews and totally awesome cast. Visited Cali- driving the PCH One with my partner Todd in August for his 50th B-Day trip. Finished the script I was writing (adapted from the play "Trojan Women") entitled "Troy is Weeping" and was happy to have a staged reading in Sept at Clifton to receive feedback.
UPDATE NOV 2013! Congratulations to my youngest son Daniel Sullivan who married his lovely bride Ashley Nicole Neal on 10 Nov 2013. In April 2013, acted with Reston Com. Players in "33 Variations" portraying a woman dying of ALS & recd the Wash Area Theater Comm Honor (WATCH) award for Best Actress in Leading Role. In June 2013, underwent surgery on thinning and totally degenerated Discs in my neck. Long recovery/not able to be that active for several months so gained a ton of weight. Hard decision, but had to take hiatus from my work as a teaching Artist to heal up.
UPDATE 2012:
Hope to hear from you and shout out to the Class of '70! We turn 60 this year -- YIKES!!!! It's special for me this year - my birthday is on leap day, so actually it's only my 15th birthday celebration... looking forward to it. Viva la vida!
Initial post:
I am one of the few natives of Northern VA living in the area. Ironically, I spent a lot of time OUT of NoVa. ...Expand for more
Had my first trans-pacific plane ride at age 5. Seems like I've been traveling all my life, although I've been back in NoVA since 1989! So much happened early on.
I rather operated under the radar in high school...but I did a lot in the Drama Dept with Mrs. Kogelman and enjoyed French classes with Mr. Avoli and Mme Depee. (I always liked languages and studied French, Romanian and Spanish later on in life.) Drama classes developed into a life-long passion. I studied acting and directing in college, but never really pursued the "stage dream" and found other areas that appealed more at the time.
Becoming more addicted to the steady pay a government job offered after college, I went over to the dark side and became a bureaucrat. (I must have been a Roman in a past life because the work felt very comfortable.) I kept shoving theater to the back burner until finally the dream was overtaken by events.
I found that working for the government fulfilled two other huge passions: Adventure and Service to Country. We were Kennedy Kids after all, weren't we? As a kid, I lived overseas in Taiwan and Vietnam so taking my first post as a 20-something to West Africa was scratching an overdue itch.
Along the way, I did what most people do- I met a great guy overseas who shared my love of adventure. We married in 1981 in Lagos, Nigeria. I followed him in his Army career, continuing to work while we started our family. We were posted to Bucharest, Rangoon and Panama before returning to the states. My husband retired from the military in 1993 and worked for private industry. I lost my Mom in 1987 and as my Dad declined in health, I left the USG in 1994 to care for him and became a full-time mom to my young boys.
I volunteered to teach kids theater in 1996 which evolved into my own business of instructing elementary school theater workshops. I began dabbling again in community and small professional theater, circuitously returning to my original passion.
I also learned to sail along the way, deep sea fish and enjoy the water.
Things were going well - our two boys were just launching themselves after some false starts and we were planning for our final retirement to hang chads in Florida when life threw us a curve ball in June 2005. My beloved husband of 24 years suddenly passed away from an undetected heart problem. It was a shock of shocks in our lives and my boys and I had to regroup. We had a very foggy first year, but we (they) are strong, resilient and support each other.
I moved in 2006 to a more manageable condo. Both sons served in the Army and are moving forward with purpose and drive. Both have been to Iraq and were fortunate to come back safely and with a deeper maturity. I am VERY proud of them.
I am trying my hand again in Theater. I continue to write and have resumed my workshop teaching. I remain an adventurer and try to enjoy my life as much as I can.
That silver lining is peeking through the dark clouds. I was blessed to have met another great guy who is in my life now. Life has a way of slowly healing and renewing itself if you open yourself. I was swimming deep under water and finally had to decide whether to surface for air or drown. I did surface slowly but remain swimming. I remain an optimist.
It's all about passion.
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