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So, the mission seems to be to describe my life since Chamberlain days at some length less than a full novel (maybe a novella?). From there, I moved to DC to attend college at the Catholic University of America (I’m not Catholic, it just had one of the best Drama Depts. in the country), studying Drama and Psychology (while my mom served in the Carter Administration, helping to found the Dept. of Education, & then later as the first female VP in the Big Ten at Michigan State Univ., then at Emory Univ.). Since one of the great thrills for me has been working with well-known actors, directors and such whom I’ve either admired or been curious about, & since that seems to be one thing about my life that especially interests friends, I won’t shy away from “name -dropping” them & trust that you’ll forgive me. After college and co-starring in a PBS series with Esai Morales & in other DC-based film productions, I headed to L.A. where I got my Master’s in Clinical Psych. at Antioch University, which I loved (non-traditional, no grades, lots of hands-on learning and self-motivation, etc.) & continued a career as an actor. In L.A., I enjoyed studying with the famed Stella Adler & playing small roles in soaps & films (working with Stallone for 3 months on “Over the Top” and with James Earl Jones in “Soul Man”) & large roles on stage & in independent films. I was a 5-day champion on the $25,000 Pyramid winning over $13000; I was married; I developed my foodie and wine appreciation habits; we enjoyed travels to Europe and domestic locales, & I moved to NYC in 1988 when I divorced, feeling the need to resolve some issues from my youth.
In NY, I continued working as an actor & did some film directing/producing, including a highlight of spending 6 weeks in Provincetown, Cape Cod, living in a big beach house with the cast & crew of a film I co-directed. I hosted an educational TV series broadcast in Japan (managing to pay the rent on my 3 bedroom East Village flat while taping 3 shows on a day every other month!) & appeared in a number of commercials. I also taught English as a Second Language at Baruch College. I traveled a lot, domestically & internationally, with my partner at the time who was a busy actor on Broadway & regionally. I probably put my own life & career too much on the back burner, but I had some growing up to do, which I progressed with life-changing solo trips to Mexico and New Mexico, staying at a friend’s ranch while she was doing a Russian book tour & enjoying her lake, teepee, crystal lined waterfall, private canyon & car to take me on a journey following Georgia O’Keefe’s path. I eventually ended that other relationship & enjoyed being single for a few months before I met my life partner, Barry. He was living on the West Coast & we courted for a year & a day, including trips to San Diego & a trip to Costa Rica. We moved back to Atlanta 3 days after our wedding (taking the names Sheri Mann Stewart & Barry Stewart Mann) & have been married for 13 years now. He’s a great guy: Harvard grad, writer, actor, storyteller (named National Storyteller of the Year in 2001), teacher & arts educator & active father to our two boys, now 7 & 10. You can see his 2 new storytelling CD’s at CDBaby.com.
Once in Atlanta, we became founding members of Georgia’s first Cohousing Community (a Danish concept of intentional community), located near Emory University in the Lake Claire neighborhood. We love living in-town with all the diversity & cultural opportunities that come with it. Our 13-household community itself includes members of almost every major world religion & philosophy! For a few years, I served on the Board of Directors for Atlanta Pride (for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Questioning & Allied community) -- with my final year culminating in attendance of over 300,000 at our festival and a performance by the B’52’s -- & I’ve participated in numerous panels on GLBTQ issues at universities in the area. I served on the Theater Faculty at Emory for several years & have continued to teach Sr. seminars at the Goizueta Business School and in other areas of the university & have taught film directing at the Art Institute of Atlanta. I also serve on the Board of Directors for Screen Actors Guild & was just elected to the county Democratic Party Committee.
I’ve continued my acting career & have had featured roles: in a TV pilot with Andie MacDowell and in films “My Fellow Americans” (working with James Garner and Jack Lemmon) & Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married” & the up (working with Janet Jackson). I co-star with my husband in a short independent film which is making the festival circuit, “Insanity du Jour”, & I narrated a sci fi Podcast, Ej-Es which can be heard online (http://escapepod.org/2007/07/26/ep116-ej-es/). Recently in Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva & Tyler Perry's sequel, Why Did I Get Married Too in my same role as professor.
We homeschool our boys in the “unschooling” philosophy (I’ve started referring to our style as “Field Schooling” since we’re rarely at home) & they've chosen to become professional actors -- with agents in Atlanta & L.A. & me as their official manager. Tendal, my older, (see IMDB, “Tendal Mann” online, or Google Tendal or Royce Mann) has played Tiny Tim in the Tony-Award winning Alliance Theater’s production of “Christmas Carol” for three years and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Dill in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. He had a large role in a big film for which we all attended the gala world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (with a stop at Niagara Falls) including the red carpet and autograph signing for Tendal. It’s called “Who Do You Love” & is about Chess Records (it’s not the same film as “Cadillac Records”, about the same subject) & it should be in theaters sometime in ’10. I directed the boys in a short film & am now in post-production on it, as I am with a documentary film I produced over the last couple of years, documenting the life of a good friend who has successfully transitioned from Female to Male. He & I also co-wrote a play, “Turn Me On”, which was selected for the Brave New Works series at Emory Univ. & won the University’s top writing award. BOTH boys were cast again this year in the Alliance’s “Christmas Carol”, with my younger, Royce, as Tiny Tim & Tendal as an older Cratchit. Royce is becoming a skilled rock climber, gymnast, track runner & baseball player and Tendal was on a swim team last year & won a trophy at his first Chess tournament.
In the past couple of years, we've traveled twice to Vancouver to visit friends & enjoyed a three-generation family trip with my folks to Greece a couple of years ago. Before Royce was born, we had a great trip sans kids to Belize & we recently made a trip to Costa Rica with the boys to volunteer on an organic chocolate farm as a Spanish immersion experience. We enjoy visiting Barry’s family in the Palm Beach area. We spend a week each year in Jekyll Island & Chattanooga. We attend a Unitarian Universalist congregation when we can & we enjoy our rescue dog, Onyx, a standard poodle/terrier mix.
I served on the Leadership Team for the Obama campaign in our area, so you can manage my elation with the election (I was a co-leader of the campaign team in my area of Dekalb County & we had the highest percentage Obama voter turnout of any county in the country). I’ve been supporting Obama since four years ago, so it feels like a long time coming.
These days, I relax by listening to NPR, reading, seeing as many films as possible & visiting our family mountain cabin. My folks (Mother & her husband of 25+ years, Nick) live nearby & are retired, but stay busy & are very participatory grandparents.
I'm currently producing a new non-profit TV show for Atlanta cable, which I'll be co-hosting and always looking for funds to complete my film productions, etc. If you have interest or ideas, let me know.
