Friend Friday – Meet Juliana Bellinger

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Meet Juliana Bellinger. Isn’t that a great name? I love it. Her students have called her Miss B and Bells over the years. Her 11 nieces and nephews when they were little called (and call) her “ooliana.”  I call her Jules or Jul.

Juliana is an actress and a teacher extraordinaire. She is smart, smart, smart and hugely funny. She is keen and insightful and has a penchant for fighting for what is RIGHT.

I met her at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan long ago when we were both teaching theater. She created her lesson plans each night on a napkin at a local coffee shop. I spent 3 hours sweating in my cabin working and re-working what I’d do. Her kids loved her. Her teaching is and was effortless.

She was in a particularly difficult relationship that summer and when it ended, her family (who are incredibly devoted and fiercely loving) swept in to take her home and help her heal. I didn’t see her again until the next summer and she was utterly transformed. It was one of the first of many huge changes I got to witness in Juliana’s life. She knows how to begin again unlike anyone I know. And she does it with a freshness and purpose and curiosity that is beautiful.

Juliana is like family to me. We wrestle like family and love each other like family. We can go months without talking and pick up where we left off. She will always be in my life and we will always inspire one another to take the next life steps.

Juliana, Kathy (who you will hear about very soon) and I all taught 5 summers together at Interlochen. We lived in the same little cabin for the last 4. We spent all year planning for the next summer. And every summer we’d have a new summer song. One summer it was “Passionate Kisses” and I remember singing that at the top of our lungs as we unpacked. Juliana always found our summer song.

Juliana’s family also had a cabin on Crooked Lake and every camp weekend we could get away, we went to “the house of no shoulds.” We swam, made yummy meals and read in the hammock. Juliana always had a book of questions of games and would take the whole group on great conversation adventures. She’d make yummy snacks and plan fun outings.

Since our Interlochen summers, Jul and I have lived in Boulder and in Los Angeles together. She took about 7 years off in between and went to teach high school in Michigan. (Again, she is an amazing teacher and her students adored her). But soon, her passion and commitment to performing whispered in her ear and she moved to Los Angeles.

She moved to Los Angeles (for the first time) days after Kate was born. And she dove in. She got work. She loved it. (One of my favorite things she did was the movie World’s Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins). She was perfect in that. But that fabulous dance between the crazy creative life and the stability of a ‘real job’ whisked her away to teach again for a couple of years.

Just a few weeks ago, Jul moved back to L.A.  We’re so happy she’s back. It’s a new chapter filled with possibility. I’m excited to have her work with Lisa Wolpe (http://sherri NULL.machighway NULL.com/~heidiros/2010/friend-friday-meet-lisa-wolpe/). She’ll rock the Shakespeare house. And I’m curious to see how she will thrive and carve out a new life here. As I said, she’s brilliant at that.

Of course, as we all are, she’s looking for some good healthy streams of income to support her while she dives back into the business.  So, put your brainstorming hats on and see if you can suggest any work possibilities. Here are some things about Jul that may help to know:

1. She is a great teacher of ANYTHING. Teachers are teachers and she is that. (Do you have a child or know one that needs some tutoring help and major INSPIRATION?)

1. She is a brainstormer extraordinaire. She’s a great problem solver. She’s an INVENTOR. She can pitch just about anything. (She’s a Gemini for goodness sake).

1. She loves dogs and has a sweet a fabulous Golden named Jack.

1. She loves trying something new and is REALLY strong. She has endurance and WILL.

1. Her dad was a congressman–Nick Smith– and she helped run his campaigns. She can talk with anyone about anything.

1. She should have been a pioneer woman. She’s strong, steadfast, flexible and can make do with what is.

I want to help her find a quirky perfectly fitting job to bring in the money while she plunges back into the creative life. Any ideas?

Big love.