Below you'll find our first actor-penned entry to the MT blog. Written by Liza Weil, this post is a reminder of what a great small theater can mean to an early career actor. Liza now lives in LA and has a career in film & TV (and is most recognizable from her 7 years of playing Paris Geller on the WB show the Gilmore Girls), but serves on the Montgomery Theater Board of Directors and has come back here periodically to work on our stage.
Read on. . .

I started working at Montgomery Theater in 1993, the year it opened its doors. I was 16 and knew I wanted to be an actor, but didn't have a true place to go and be one. Montgomery Theater became my safe haven. At MT, I worked with true theater artists in a community that was hungry for good stories and good storytelling. It was here that I learned what it meant to be an artist: the discipline, the passion, the work ethic, the things that Montgomery Theater has always had in spades. MT is a place where actors come to do challenging work with like-minded artists.

Although I valued my experiences there, it wasn't until I ventured to New York and Los Angeles – a step made possible by the confidence I gained working at MT – that I realized what a lucky young actor I had been. Many of my peers, from small towns and big cities alike, had never been exposed to – let alone been given an opportunity to work at – such a quality theater. There are only a handful of theaters in America that exist and thrive in small towns, let alone with such consistent excellence. Well into my life as a professional actor in film and television, I continue to find my way back to MT to work. I still consider Montgomery Theater to be my artistic home.
--Liza Weil