She's no fool

Denise Simone '81 has a suggestion for those who want a successful career in theater. "Follow your own heart's journey and resist defining yourself on a commercial level. Begin to define yourself in relation to the work. I'd encourage young actors to look at smaller, vibrant arts communities throughout the country."

Simone speaks from experience. After 10 years as a free-lance actor, she built a vibrant creative life with Company of Fools (www.companyoffools.org), a professional, nonprofit theater company in Hailey, Idaho. There she is associate artistic director, while husband Rusty Wilson, who started the company in Richmond, Va. in 1992, serves as artistic director.

In addition to serving local audiences, Company of Fools has attracted a following among the 80,000 winter and 100,000 summer visitors to this tourist destination just 11 miles from Sun Valley.

With a full-time staff of six, the group stages productions in the Liberty Theater, a former movie house seating 260. "We were very fortunate that two of our board members owned the building."

Those board members are Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. Willis and Simone met as students at Montclair State. Willis occasionally takes to the Liberty Theater stage as he did in July with their production of "True West."

The core group has been together five years and shares a commitment to developing and sustaining a company of theater artists who focus on works that deal with "the human heart in conflict with itself."

Besides the spiritual and aesthetic benefits of regional theater, Simone says there are practical reasons for aspiring theater professionals to consider looking beyond Broadway and Hollywood.

"Every place holds unlimited possibilities," said Simone, who is also a playwright. "I have been given the gift of teaching. In the end, it's not about reaching a destination. It's all about the journey."

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