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her to pursue a musical theater, dance and theater education, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Miller graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in theater. Her next stop was in summer stock at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan where she (and years before, where Jonathan Larsen who wrote Rent), served as apprentices. After that, ready or not, Miller headed off to conquer New York. Bursting with energy and ambition, she took five dance classes a day, along with voice lessons. She wound up doing a lot of regional theater. One such gig in Naples, Florida provided the opportunity for her to meet her future husband. As that gig concluded, they flew back to New York together, where she won the audition to tour from 2002-2004 with the national company of 42nd Street. The show never lost its popularity, at least not for the more than 800 shows during the two-and-a-half years it toured across the country. Miller also danced in the Broadway revival, as part of the production’s closing cast. keeps one in the game,” says Miller. Knowing about Amy Miller now brings us to the origin of TTC and its summer show, Best of Broadway Under the Stars. Established in 2008 as a 501(c)(3), TTC had its birth at Punta Banda in Baja, Mexico. Their mission was to enlist holistic health specialists to “integrate physical and mental health practices into artist training— working with specialists in fields of fitness, nutrition, psychology, music therapy and neuroscience.” Their research expanded across the United States, and by the time they finished their initial phase, known as Project Knowledge, they had enlisted the input of more than 450 people. The information they received sprang from the ranks of artists and directors at top regional theaters like the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, the Arena Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, along with Broadway producers, students and professors. These studies laid the foundation for TTC. To comply with certain rules that don’t apply to state lands, following a countrywide search, TTC settled in Jack London State Historic Park in Sonoma. Initially, they did a one-night benefit, where around 900 people showed up. So against all odds, magical things occurred. Using $5 from every ticket sale, they were able to donate $267,000 to the park in their first five years. Although the park had been slated to close in 2011, it has remained open thanks to TTC, which breathed new life into the venue by contributing more than a quarter of a million dollars over the past few years to for its care and upkeep. So how did Miller keep things fresh? By keeping in mind that at each new show, the people in the audience were seeing it for the first time, and that her goal was to connect with them. “They’re in the theater for a reason,” she stated. And since she had achieved her childhood dream to dance on Broadway, she never took that, or performing for an audience, for granted. The other way Miller keeps fresh and motivated is to always be working on multiple creative projects, including online courses and video projects. “Staying creative while you’re still doing a show Transcendence Theatre Company MARIN ARTS & CULTURE 25