April 8, 2002

Not only is Liza Vann a gifted actress, able to hold an entire audience spellbound with her funny, touching, tender/tough show “The Top of the Bottom Half,” she is also a consummate communicator, able to drop onto a college campus, hit the deck running, and leave, in the wake of her three-day residency, ripples of insight, enthusiasm, and understanding — not to mention a sea of adoring student fans.

Liza’s people-skills facilitate connections, linking her message to her listeners and exanding that message into universal truths about self-empowerment. The students at UWMC found, through Liza's classroom visits to various departments, important models to emulate: they watched in awe as her skills in public-speaking, research, creative thinking, public advocacy, and decision making unfolded. And when she appeared before them for the theatre performance at the end of her stay, in her “accomplished actress” persona, they already felt they were celebrating the talents of a dear friend. Liza can do anything — everything — and does it with such energy, commitment, and élan that I urge every presenter or arts coordinator to contact this one-woman force of nature without delay and tailor the most wonderful, fascinating, and multi-faceted residency imaginable.

Sincerely,

Jean Greenwood
Lecture and Fine Arts Coordinator