How did you get so good at doing comedy on the ice?
I was inspired at the age of five by attending Champions On Ice when I saw Scott Hamilton do his chicken routine.
Years later I performed a mime routine taking lessons from Tom Johnson, who studied with the legendary Marcel Marceau. He really taught me how to make my movements bigger and not be afraid to "hide behind the character" to get rid of my shyness. YEP, I'm really a shy person, honest.
Where did you get the idea for doing Mrs. Doubtfire on the ice?
My Mrs. Doubtfire number turns out to be a stroke of luck. When I saw the movie with the scene of Robin Williams jamming to "Dude Looks Like a Lady," I knew that I would do that one day, but I needed something slow to start and something to cover the outfit. One day I was over at a friend's house and my friend put on the music from the television show "Southpark." I had never seen the show. When the song "I'm Sailing Away" came on, I asked about which character went with that song. The answer was "the fat one"...."Hmm…," I thought...."Slow song, could cover the outfit." BANG!--- the program was complete! It took me forty-five minutes to choreograph ------yep, all by myself....then Stephanie Pizzo, my "ballet/fix my arms/choreographer" did some small tweaking. It took even less time to cut the music. The skirt cost me forty-five cents from the Salvation Army and is by far the best investment I have made to date.
Do you just flip over people, or do you flip over things too?
Anything really. In the janitor routine I flipped over the mop bucket, and in past shows over people willing to lie down on the ice. I still am amazed at the people willing to lie down on the ice for me....I mean "Hello! If I pick too late guess where that blade is going!?" But alas, I would never hurt someone (knock on wood) and it has been a few years since I have done that. I do prefer objects other than people though.
