photo by steed media service

Actress

It’s a wonderful thing when one gets to make a career out of doing what she loves. Acting is Denise Lee’s love, but that hasn’t always been the case.

“My interest developed in high school. [My junior year], I took a class as a credit and didn’t like it because I had a horrible teacher,” says Lee, adding that her interest changed during her last year of school. “My senior year, I had a different teacher and developed a love for [acting]; when I went to college, I was going to major in theatre and I just developed. I’ve been doing some form of theatre off and on since then.”

Having worked as an actress in many different areas of entertainment (in addition to performing on stage, she’s currently filming a movie with Diane Keaton), Lee reveals that she has experienced some prejudice for being a stage performer.

“I don’t think a lot of people consider [theatre] a real job,” she says, laughing. “When you say you’re an actor, they immediately want to know ,‘What have I seen you in?’ and [when you say] “theatre,” the other question is, ‘But what do you really do?’”

“I love theatre–I’m kind of an instant gratification kind of girl,” adds Lee. “You get that from an audience.”

Lee believes in the purity of the stage, and regardless of her film career, the theatre will always be her first love.

“It’s so spontaneous,” she says. “You never know what’s going to happen onstage—you know what’s supposed to happen—but you never [predict] what can happen on stage.”
- todd williams

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