Donna Shown Silva

I was a stagehand, the first female in IATSE Local 720, for 15 years. Then became a lighting designer traveling all over the United States and doing shows in many theaters including off-Broadway, summer stock regional and tent theaters.
The major love of my life has been as a mother and grandmother. I am proud to say I have raised three to have excellent work ethics. My son is also a Stagehand. I had the proud honor of swearing him into what was previously known as a father/son union thereby being the first case of mother/ son. My daughter is an aesthetician and my two grandsons are students. Dylan, a jazz major at UNLV and Simon, a high school student and basketball player.

I attended John S Parks Elementary an John C Fremont Jr High I then had a short stay in high school as 'back in those days' a girl was expelled as soon as she became pregnant. The irony was not lost on this youthful mother as I wondered what was the sense of making sure young mothers would also be uneducated mothers? In those days Clark County was politically controlled by a bunch of old, white religious fundamentalists and extreme conservatives.
I finished educating myself in starts and stops but finally found my love of theatre.
I will always remember our class as a rebellious one who staged a protest against John C Fremont's rule that girls could not wear pants. We all came one day, dressing down, and if I remember correctly calling it "Grime Day" . Patie Pittman, myself and Coky Ragsdale were instigators along with Monica ? And I believe Debi Saiger.