MVP Dad
Miller James
Profile: Miller and his entire family will be performing in Opera Santa Barbara's Pirates of Penzance. Miller has been with Opera SB since May of 2001. He first served as a Wig and Makeup Artist, then headed that department. He designed costumes for Cosi Fan Tutti in 2004 and has been designing, coordinating and heading the wardrobe department since then. In 2007 He directed the first of the Family series with the hugely successful Hansel and Gretel. He directed Magic Flute in 2008, and is currently directing Pirates of Penzance. Following Pirates, he will co-direct Leonard Bernstein's PETER PAN at the Lobero.
Miller also Directs and writes for Ensemble’s Storybook Theatre where he has directed 23 shows. He is the Resident Costume Designer at Westmont College, and designs and directs for the Lobero Resident Theatre Company, SBT: The Santa Barbara Theatre. Miller has also designed wigs and makeup for the Music Academy of the West. Miller goes into local schools as a Theatre Director.
Volunteer Involvement: Former Board Member, Santa Barbara Performing Arts League; performing at various events, directing and costuming
Profession: Freelance Theatre Director, Actor, and Costume Designer
Adjunct Theatre Instructor at Westmont College
Artist-in-Residence in the Schools
Education: MA in Theatre and Dance at California State University; BA in Theatre and Education from Seattle Pacific University
Children: Tessa, 10
Andrew and Jakob, 7
More about Miller's Family: TESSA MILLER: No stranger to opera, Tessa performed her first role with OSB as "Trouble" in Madame Butterfly. Since then, she has performed in Faust, La Donna de Puccini, A Masked Ball, Hansel and Gretel, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Magic Flute, and Pirates of Penzance. She has also held major roles in local productions of Peter Pan, and Annie.
ANDREW AND JAKOB MILLER performed the role of BABY CLOWN at age 5 in Opera Santa Barbara's Pagliacci. They have been Baby Jack on the ABC/Touchstone hit television show SCRUBS for 4 seasons, and was recently featured in the local news for their role as "Danny" in an episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Miller's wife, MAIJA is the glue that holds the family together. She is an aide in the elementary school where her children attend, she runs them to auditions in Los Angeles, and still manages to keep a creative and balanced home for her family. A former Stage Manager, she is keenly aware of the theatre world. As a House Manager, she wrote a manual for House Management that is still used today.
Fun Q & A with our Spotlight Dad:Personal:What phrase or motto do you live by? In art, we are once again able to do all things we have forgotten; we are able to walk on water; we speak to the angels who call us; we move, unfettered among the stars.
~Madeleine L
Inspiration: I'm inspired by Light. The Light of the Gospel, the Light coming from and surrounding people...everything I do has to do with Light.
If you could teach your kids one thing and have it impact them, what would it be? Serving is the Greatest Gift and a grateful heart is a happy heart.
How do you measure success? We are successful if we:
-emptied ourselves and let the art do it's job
-listened to others and collaborated in order to make something more than ourselves
- displayed leadership through serving
-Let the Light Shine!
Greatest Accomplishment: Moving out of the role of survivor, getting out of the way, and becoming a role model. Huge responsibility.
Proudest Moment: The birth of my daughter.
The birth of my sons.
Biggest Challenge: being reminded that even a guy like me can be used to created wonderful things.
Wildest Dream: Open a Children's Theatre in Santa Barbara
What would people be surprised to learn about you? Happily married for almost 22 years
I'm an award winning Equestrian
and I want to be a cowboy in a movie.
Where did you grow up: Whidbey Island in Washington State.
How many siblings: 1 brother
1step brother
1half sister
4 step sisters
2 foster sisters
First Job: Bus Boy at Clinton Coffee Shop
Childhood Ambition: To be an actor
Favorites:Favorite Local Restaurant: Itsuki
Favorite Coffee Spot: Goleta Coffee Company when I'm in Goleta and
NorthStar Coffee Company in Santa Barbara
Favorite Soundtrack/song: "I'll be Your Baby Tonight" Bernadette Peters
Favorite Movie: Too many to list: Noises Off!, The Red Balloon, The Bicycle Thief, All the Harry Potters, What's Up, Doc....the list goes on.
Favorite TV Show: I like GLEE right now. I also like any show that my kids are on...
Retreat: Rancho Oso off Paradise Road
Last Book You Read: "The Marshmallow Incident" to my boys,
"Walking on Water, Reflections on Faith and Art" by Madeleine L'Engle to myself. Just starting to re-read PETER PAN...research for my next show.
Tell us about a product or item that you can't live without as a parent: Kitchen Aid mixer and those pre-moistened flushable bathroom tissue things so the kids can wipe themselves clean...
Your Perfect Day: Up early and have French-pressed coffee (Cinammon Bun from Goleta Coffee Company) and sit outside on the patio and be thankful.
Cuddle with my boys when they wake up. Then my daughter will join.
make pancakes together, bike to the beach, enjoy one another and be thankful. Then spend time cooking and have friends come for dinner....
Other:What inspires you to go to work every day? Knowing that I am on the right path.
Five Buck$ Worth of Romance Advice
by Leon Scott Baxter
CouplesCommuttedToLove.com
When we hear the name Abraham Lincoln most of us think of the gentle-giant president, the Gettysburg Address, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Rarely do we see our sixteenth president as a romantic, but romantic he was. What a lucky woman Mary Todd was, for it was Lincoln who once said that the best thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother. Talk about 19th century smooth. His words rang true then, as their echoes resonate truth now in the 21st century.
I've seen the results of Lincoln's advice not so much as America's Romance Guru, but more through my eleven years as an elementary school teacher. I didn't make the connection at first, but after a few years, the pattern began to emerge. Those students who were polite and respectful, the ones who treated their peers well and were well-liked, tended to be the same children who wrote about both parents, who would have Mom and Dad attend parent conferences, and who always knew when it was their parents' wedding anniversary.
These parents spent time together. They made an effort to share special days with one another. The dads loved the moms, and the children could feel that.
When children see a strong, loving relationship between their parents, a sense of security, stability, and safety is anchored within them. "If Mom and Dad love each other so much, they must love us, too," children reason, feeling that nothing will separate the family in this world where over 50% of marriages end in divorce, and so many children are being raised in single-family households.
A strong bond between parents allows children to know that love is okay. Not just romantic love, but love for friends, family, pets, and teachers. They learn there's no shame in being kind. It's pleasing to make others happy. They will internalize these characteristics which will undoubtedly resurface during playdates, at school recess, and any other child-social gatherings.
Not only will your children become happier people, but the affection aimed at Mom will plant the seed for strong relationships for your children's future. Little ones may want to get in on Mommy and Daddy's hug or sofa-snuggle. Teens may tell you to "get a room". But, no matter how they react, they will see what love is, not from a TV sitcom, a PG-13 movie, an article in a teen magazine, or what their friends tell them. They learn love from you.
Legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, said, "The person you are is the person your children will be." What a powerful, poignant, and provocative statement. If it's true, we as parents have incredible responsibility to live our lives as we hope our children will live theirs. So, show them true love, for isn't love what we all strive for? Don't you want your children to find as loving a relationship as you have? Then... show them.
Buy Mom flowers. Tickle her when she washes the dishes. Have date nights without the kids. Hold hands in public. Snuggle on the couch. All the while, letting the kids see you love their mother.
Your children will develop into strong and healthy people whose relationships will blossom, while yours will stay as romantic as those days you were courting, all thanks to the man on the five. Thanks, Abe.
=
Leon Scott Baxter is a father of two girls and has been married to his college sweetheart for seventeen years. As well as learning how romantic our country's forefathers were, Baxter is an author and offers relationship advice to couples via articles, seminars, books, workshops, and his website, CouplesCommittedToLove.com.
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