Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A lady in retirement

DJ Sullivan, performer and educator, enters a new phase.

DJ Sullivan
DJ Sullivan

“You know what’s great about acting?” asks D.J. Sullivan. “You can do it from birth to death and never skip a beat.

“Okay, I’m skipping a beat and headed into retirement — and I can’t wait.

Sullivan has taught acting in San Diego since 1960. That’s 55 years, and rarely a season goes by when at least one former student isn’t nominated for a Craig Noel Award. She has been on a stage or a screen for 67 years. She was a national board member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) for 30 years, and 20 with the American Federation of Radio and TV Writers (AFTRA). As of last Monday night, February 2, it’s official. She stepped down.

“I want to read the stack of books and plays by my bedside, enjoy working in my garden, travel to my beloved redwoods. Well, you get it, retire.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Well, sort of.

Since 1977, she has taught the D.J. Sullivan Workshop, which she didn’t start. In those days there were no local workshops. Actors had to drive to LA. When agents learned of Sullivan’s success teaching Junior Theatre, they made a decision. Without her knowing it, they announced that she would teach a San Diego workshop. “Came as news to me.” As did her surprise when 30 students turned up for the first class.

'night, Mother

Her daughter Renee will take over the workshop, “which I’m thrilled about.” Now Sullivan can see “even more plays, like 'night, Mother, which I loved last week at Ion” (she also loved that cast member Yolanda Franklin’s a former student).

She recently finished her book, Subtext Made Simple — on Amazon later this month and in book form as well (“for those who never have tried subtext in their acting, give it a go!”).

Now that she has the time she should write her memoirs. She has a story about practically everyone in the business: taking notes for a young, hyper-nervous Robin Williams at the Comedy Store; Annette Benning’s stage fright in a Junior Theatre class; telling George Clooney to cut his hair and get serious about acting (during filming of Return of the Killer Tomatoes); Jane Fonda sleeping on her couch; and her decades-long relationship with casting guru Michael Shurtleff, author of Audition.

In the future, Sullivan will work on selected projects and counsel students. She will continue to remind them that: “Acting is not a way of life. It is a way to life. My belief is that all actors should know all the tools that are out there. Use what works for you and discard the rest. Find your own way and never ever stop growing, watching, and listening to the other actors on the stage.

“May the passion be with you. It’s been with me since birth, and I still love it!”


Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
DJ Sullivan
DJ Sullivan

“You know what’s great about acting?” asks D.J. Sullivan. “You can do it from birth to death and never skip a beat.

“Okay, I’m skipping a beat and headed into retirement — and I can’t wait.

Sullivan has taught acting in San Diego since 1960. That’s 55 years, and rarely a season goes by when at least one former student isn’t nominated for a Craig Noel Award. She has been on a stage or a screen for 67 years. She was a national board member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) for 30 years, and 20 with the American Federation of Radio and TV Writers (AFTRA). As of last Monday night, February 2, it’s official. She stepped down.

“I want to read the stack of books and plays by my bedside, enjoy working in my garden, travel to my beloved redwoods. Well, you get it, retire.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Well, sort of.

Since 1977, she has taught the D.J. Sullivan Workshop, which she didn’t start. In those days there were no local workshops. Actors had to drive to LA. When agents learned of Sullivan’s success teaching Junior Theatre, they made a decision. Without her knowing it, they announced that she would teach a San Diego workshop. “Came as news to me.” As did her surprise when 30 students turned up for the first class.

'night, Mother

Her daughter Renee will take over the workshop, “which I’m thrilled about.” Now Sullivan can see “even more plays, like 'night, Mother, which I loved last week at Ion” (she also loved that cast member Yolanda Franklin’s a former student).

She recently finished her book, Subtext Made Simple — on Amazon later this month and in book form as well (“for those who never have tried subtext in their acting, give it a go!”).

Now that she has the time she should write her memoirs. She has a story about practically everyone in the business: taking notes for a young, hyper-nervous Robin Williams at the Comedy Store; Annette Benning’s stage fright in a Junior Theatre class; telling George Clooney to cut his hair and get serious about acting (during filming of Return of the Killer Tomatoes); Jane Fonda sleeping on her couch; and her decades-long relationship with casting guru Michael Shurtleff, author of Audition.

In the future, Sullivan will work on selected projects and counsel students. She will continue to remind them that: “Acting is not a way of life. It is a way to life. My belief is that all actors should know all the tools that are out there. Use what works for you and discard the rest. Find your own way and never ever stop growing, watching, and listening to the other actors on the stage.

“May the passion be with you. It’s been with me since birth, and I still love it!”


Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.