The Storyteller

I never wanted to be a judge. I always wanted to try cases. But presiding over the bench became my purpose.

My decision to run for judge came when I learned how few judges have experience trying cases. Because of that, achieving the robe became a matter of principle. How could I be the kind of person who complains about the fact that we don’t have qualified judges if I’m not willing to do something about it? So I threw my hat in the ring on the Democratic ticket to run the 281st Civil District Court, and I won.

Originally, I wanted to be a district attorney, fighting for rights and locking up criminals. But that changed when I was in college. As a freshman at the University of Texas, I got super into mock trial tournaments — not out of ambition, really, but rather for the social life. I didn’t play sports growing up, so mock trials were the closest thing to a team sport I’d ever done. The practices, the camaraderie, the adrenaline rush — I was hooked.

As a bonus, the trials reinforced self-assurance. I found my voice and my presence in the courtroom. And once I learned that confidence is just losing the fear of looking stupid, I was free of the stage fright. That’s a goody I teach my students in the University of Houston Law Center’s mock trial program, of which I’m the director.

In the weeks following graduation from South Texas College of Law Houston, I began to miss the performative nature of trying cases. Fortunately, I lived in Houston, which has the fourth-largest theater scene in the nation and offered me another creative outlet: acting.

In the summer of 2005, I got accepted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts’ theater camp in New York. It was just a three-week course, but it led me to take a three-month hiatus from law. I packed up, headed north, and immersed myself in vocal projections and stage movements. Little did I know my temporary jaunt would turn into a yearslong odyssey through the arts.

Acting and, later, directing theater filled the mock-trial-size hole in my heart. I was studying the craft while acting in short plays and films. I even helped found a theater company, Phare Play Productions, with a friend. In four and a half years, we produced some 50 shows in NYC.

After meeting my playwright husband (a good, old-fashioned showmance), we had kids and moved back to Houston to raise them. I continued directing and producing plays and cofounded another theater company, Cone Man Running Productions, producing original works and reworked classics, like all-female Shakespeare plays. But I never let go of law.

The more my two professions intersected, the more I clocked their similarities. Law and theater — it’s all just persuasion, human connection, storytelling. Juries are people, and people want to be entertained; you just have to get them invested. Theater is the same thing. I do find, however, that theater has more in common with being a lawyer than a judge.

As a judge, I’m a thoughtful listener, a deciding force. As a director and lawyer, I’m commanding the courtroom, adjusting my emotion, telling my client’s story the way I want to deliver it. It’s what I love about working with my mock trial students. Coaching them keeps my legal mind sharp, which is great. But even better is watching my students find their own voices in the courtroom.

A few years ago, I merged law and theater like I’d never done before: I began directing lawyer plays. Exactly what they sound like, the shows are about law and cast real-life lawyers in the roles. From “12 Angry Jurors” and “Witness for the Prosecution” to “Office Hours” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which killed for three weeks in front of sold-out crowds, I watched my lawyer friends, law students and colleagues — some of whom had never acted before — light up the stage. It was amazing.

Now, I know; it’s a lot. Theater director. Civil judge. Married mother of three. Lifetime member of the Girl Scouts. But I always tell people: If there’s something you want to try, try it. If you love it, you’ll find time to keep doing it. Balance is not a myth. It’s more achievable than you think; you just have to ask for help and give it when you can.

Throughout my career, my two worlds have consistently collided, becoming chapters of the very same story. I didn’t intend to become a judge or direct a theater company, but now that I do, I use those platforms to make the world a better place. At the end of the day, whether through law or theater, I just want to help people find joy, learn something new about themselves and inspire their own stories.