Anna Nugent

Nothing to Compare

It is so easy when you are feeling at sea to start to compare your life to others. Others who are your same age or gender or in the same field or doing something altogether different than you. It is so easy to be able to look at someone else and to see what you […]

Need Want Desire Prefer

Want (v) “have a desire to possess or do (something); wish for.” Desire (v) “strongly wish for or want (something).” Need (v) “require (something) because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable.” or “expressing necessity or obligation.” Prefer (v) “like (one thing or person) better than another or others; tend to choose.” […]

Resistance My Old Friend

Last week was spent in the face of resistance. A writer friend and I had been working on a short film adaptation of his short story/one-act play for the past three years. We wanted to film in Ireland and frankly we wanted it to be Oscar-worthy. It had to be beautiful and rich and full […]

Controlling Speed

I’ve always been afraid of speed. I remember being thrilled with the new state of the art roller blades I bought with my high school graduation money, I was so excited. That excitement faded to fear very fast on my first time out. Somehow I had never learned how to stop properly. Anytime I gained […]

Letting Go

I’ve recently become reacquainted with my propensity toward attachment. In one way or another it is something that I’ve always known about myself – maybe from moving around so much, maybe not – I’ve always been able to feel affectionate regard for things quite quickly. In a new place I’ll find ways to feel at […]

Maya Angelou says…

Phenomenal Woman by Dr. Maya Angelou

I’m not sure when I first came across Maya Angelou or why I feel such a deep connection to her and her writing. I guess I have always been drawn to spiritual women, women who I feel share a deep connection to mother earth and all people. Sister Fabu was another such woman and in […]

One Fine Day

Last summer I had the privilege of acting in “It’s a Fine Day,” a one act by Mayumi Lane as part of the HB Studios event The Central Park Plays. Jes Bedwinek and I played sisters laying our mother to rest in Central Park. It was such a pleasure to work with director Celine Rosenthal. […]

Dancing Grace

Sometimes grace feels a bit like a dance, like I’m trying to dodge it, but it just keeps coming. I see it dancing with someone else and I am moved. I draw grace towards me and, just as it gets close, I reject it. Perhaps that is actually the dance of unworthiness in all actuality. […]

Grace Needed, Grace Now

I may be a bit obsessed with grace. My name does mean “full of grace” after all, but maybe it is just because there is such a need for it. Grace can be a bit tricky to define and often carries with it a religious connotation, but for me grace is another word for love. […]

The Families We Choose

Photograph of AboutFACE Company Members

Does anyone else crave family? I’m blessed to have been born into a pretty alright one, dysfunctional yes, but I have good relationships with my siblings and step-siblings and I love my parents. I feel loved and accepted (or at the very least tolerated) for who I am. I also married into another great family […]