There is No Backstage

Linda Stephens is one of the finest actors of her generation. She's played over 5000 performances on stages across the country. She's worked with and been praised by icons of the theatre--Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Stephen Sondheim. Yet you may not know who she is. In her memoir, she offers the reader an unflinching look at her personal journey on the professional stage, from dinner theatre to regional theatre to Broadway. It is a look at the professional actor's life, specifically the stage actor's life, more accurately, the successful stage actor's life. In this sensitive and beautifully written memoir, Linda reveals the struggles, triumphs, losses, and above all, the ultimate grace found in a life in the theatre.

THERE IS NO BACKSTAGE is distinguished actor Linda Stephens' remarkable memoir of five decades in the theatre, and her debut as an engaging story-teller.  She takes us on a journey of openness, humility and depth through her award-winning career until the book's poignant finale. Linda weaves a narrative of family, love, aging, hard work and hard-earned life lessons. It is an open-hearted, remarkably honest look at what it means to dedicate your life to a profession that demands so much and can give back so little. Yet when it does give back, it can change lives forever. True to her title, there really is no backstage in this vulnerable, wise and compelling account of a full life lived on the stage.

Linda Stephens has been acting on stages for fifty years. She's been awarded for her work in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and DC. She's appeared on Broadway and Off, in dozens of regional theatres across the country. She's worked with and been praised by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Stephen Sondheim. She's been blessed with a rich and diverse life in the theatre. After living in cities across the country, Linda now calls Milwaukee home.