A journey on stage and film
by Susy Schumman
Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be an actress. From my earliest recollections, I was singing, dancing, and acting in front of my family, friends, and neighbors. I remember just as if it were yesterday… writing and directing a comedic version of “Romeo and Juliet” for my neighborhood at a mere 10 years old!
When I entered high school in the early 1970s, I soon realized that my high school had a state championship speech team. To my utter delight, I learned that one of the divisions of this award winning- speech team was Humor. In Humor, participants memorized a short scene from a comedic play and acted out that scene playing all the characters. I tried out, made the team, and participated in tournaments for the next three years. I so enjoyed playing a plethora of characters in each of the scenes I acted out. And I realized that I loved making people laugh. In the Spring of my senior year, two wonderful events occurred: I won 3rd in the state of Ohio for my scene from “Once Upon a Mattress” and I was the lead in our high school production of “Guys and Dolls.”
My love of performing continued as I majored in Mass Communication at Youngstown State University (Y.S.U.) with an emphasis on Radio and Television Production. While at Y.S.U., I wrote and starred in radio programs, television commercials, and hosted a TV talk show called, “Around Y.S.U. with Susy Q!”
After I graduated from college, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia to begin my career as a Personnel Consultant. The night before I moved to Atlanta, I asked Jesus into my heart and asked Him to take over the reigns of my life. Thus, I began an exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling adventure of walking with Jesus which continues to this very day!
After almost a year of working in my Personnel Consultant position, I found the Lord leading me away from this job and into teaching. I accepted an English teacher position at one of Atlanta’s very first Christian high schools. I immediately found this teaching job to be far more rewarding and fulfilling. And soon, I was writing and directing plays for my students!
In my late twenties, the Lord answered the cry of my heart and I began dating a wonderful man who attended my church. We were married within a year and subsequently had 4 babies in 4 years! I quit teaching before my first son was born. However, when my youngest child was 6 months old, the pastor of our church asked me if each month I would write, direct, and act in a skit which would serve as an introduction to his sermon. He called these seeker services and they were designed to reach out to any unbelievers who might be attending our church that particular Sunday. I did this for almost 2 years until my husband’s job transferred us to the Virginia.
Once we moved to Virginia, I began several years of writing and directing plays. I first wrote and directed plays in the mid-1990s for the only homeschool group in the area. After doing that for a few years, I became the speech and drama teacher at Dayspring Christian Academy. I wrote and directed 2 plays each year: a play at Christmas and a play in the Spring. Also, during this time, I wrote and directed plays for several churches in the area.
