You Didn’t See Anything

I am a life-long New Yorker who moved to Springfield two years ago after I retired, with my wife Nancy. I visited the area many times before finally settling here after both of our careers in New York ended. There are some things about New York I really miss — mainly the great pizza and bagels. We have not yet found comparable alternatives in Springfield, though a few places get an A for effort. Many years ago, in another lifetime, I worked as a Madison Avenue advertising copywriter. It was good while it lasted, but was not really the kind of writing I wanted to spend a lifetime doing. Since then, I’ve worked other jobs, but always felt the urge to return to my first love–creative writing. Nancy and I have acted together in classes and in her original plays and I am happy to join her onstage again.

Jon Spence is a high school English teacher who has performed in various musicals, plays, and other productions for 15 years.

Nancy Gessner earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre at Northern Arizona University and acted and directed in the Phoenix area for several years before moving to New York in 1999. In New York, she explored singing and writing in addition to acting – including her third performance of the one-woman play Shirley Valentine, which she also produced and directed. She moved to Springfield two years ago with her husband Charlie and is overjoyed to trade commuting to Manhattan for having more time to create art.