“We look for happiness in places we don’t need to necessarily go looking.” Julia Brothers is talking about the The First Grade, opening this week (January 28) at Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley. “I personally believe we never grow up, we just get a bigger vocabulary. That’s part of what this play’s about, though.”

Loni caught up with Julia in the new wing at Aurora to find out what it means to be fully engaged. As you’ll see Julia has an interesting and creative background in theater, from “pounding the pavement” in New York to working the stage and television in L.A.

This play has it all: a chaotic whirlwind of boisterous first graders, a depressed daughter, a Ritalin-medicated grandson, and an alcoholic, live-in ex-husband.

But, she assures us, it’s still funny. Julia has received numerous Bay Area theatre awards, and was named Bay Area Theatre MVP by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006.

Clinton Stark

Clint writes about new media, arts, wine, indie film, and tech (including his trusty Droid). An aging ice hockey player, he tries in vain to direct Loni in SSC videos. He's held executive marketing roles at tech companies including Cisco, EMC and Salesforce.com. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, he now lives in Silicon Valley. More »

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