About

“I look for scenes that tell stories and might spark your own. Each painting is an invitation into a mood or narrative, and sometimes, simply a delight. If my work makes you think or smile, I’ve succeeded.”

Susan began performing and painting as a child and worked in theatre and film throughout her professional life. She holds a BA and an MFA in Theatre and Acting from UCLA and led her own theatre company for ten years, donating proceeds to charities. Her book, Directors: From Stage to Screen and Back Again, is held in the permanent collections of more than 400 libraries. An award‑winning screenwriter, she spent the last twenty years of her career teaching at universities.

Since “retiring” in 2017 after a Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis, Susan has served as an advocate in the PD community with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, The Parkinson’s Council of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, and Jefferson Hospital. In 2020, with Twitchywoman.com, she helped create an international peer support program for women that has placed more than 300 mentees with mentors through 2025.

Inspired by the PD arts program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, she returned to painting in 2024. Though she’s no longer on stage, painting has become a deeply fulfilling artistic practice. Breathing is better with art.