VISIT SUSAN
Susan Damante is
a professional actor since the age of 18. She went behind the scenes for 10 years to manage her daughters Vinessa Shaw and Natalie Shaw to successful careers as actresses. She then went to New York City for a year and had the renaissance of my stage career. Broadway is on the horizon! (see her resume)
The show took five years to write, develop and produce under her new banner: Out Our Way Productions, formed in 2007. The world premiere was directed by Sue Hamilton, lighting design by Sandy Lee and set design by Alessandra Said. This production includes Denise Royal as Authorized Company Representative, Andy Fehrenbach as Keyboard Player and Chaedria LeBouvier as Lighting Technician.
critics & comments
nytheatre.com, Julie Congress
Let me first say, I liked this play—it is a very powerful, unique experience. Now let me explain why (and bear with me). In 1930 the poet/playwright Federico García Lorca first spoke of a force in art he called Duende... Read All »
Time Out New York Review, Andrew Frisicano
**** (four stars) Susan Damante is a woman unafraid to tell her story, and her one-woman show pulls no punches. She arrives onstage healthy, vibrant and unafraid, but it has not always been that way—as Damante makes clear in describing her bouts with bulimia and Crohn's disease, her on-and-off relationship with her heavy-drinking parents and drug-using brother, the ups and downs of her life in Southern California in the '60s and '70s, and her self-reinvention as a manager, mother and actor. Interspersed songs—ranging from Christina Aguilera to Urinetown—lightly embellish her inspiring tale, which proves that while life may not start at 50, it sure doesn't end there.
Los Angeles Journal review, Kathleen Crain
The woman is a survivor and a sage. She triggers vitality and teaches you more than your $15 theater ticket bargained for.
Songwriter, Author, Novelist, Speaker and Owner at Pam-O-Land Music, Pamela Oland
Susan is filled with talent, determination, and heart, and put that into tracking down my song "All We Have Is Now," which she'd heard in the film "Gideon," so that she could sing it (and beautifully) in her one-woman show.
Singer-Songwriter, Jennifer Paskow
Life, Death and Entertainment by Susan Damante is an invitation into a courageous woman's journey of triumph. It will make you laugh, cry and ponder the power of your own life! Susan Damante reveals how one women's strength, faith and determination can change the destiny of an entire family.
Photographer, Erik Fischer
"vivid, powerful performance. life changing and inspiring... makes my own life seem boring." "still cried, even after the third time watching it" "had a hard time taking pictures during the performance, I cried so much, I couldn't focus. A truly touching, wonderful experience"
Owner Richard Lawson Studios, Richard Lawson
Susan studies with me and has also be a colleague of mine for over 25 years. She is a dedicated professional who has a great work ethic and is a delight to be around because her attitude is always positive and upbeat. She is wonderfully talented and tenacious in her approach. She will enhance anything that she's a part of.
Musician, Zachary Provost
I had the pleasure of accompanying Susan for her one-woman-show "Life, Death and Entertainment" here in Los Angeles. I found Susan to be a joy to work with both on and off the stage. Susan's a gifted singer and a dynamic force of creative energy who anyone would be lucky to work with.
Head of Production at LA Film School, Ariel Levy
Susan Damante is a towering talent. I had the good fortune to see her one woman show. It was an explosion of courage, and of exquisitely modulated drama and song.