Molly Louise Shepard, Playwright
Molly Louise Shepard was born in Houston, Texas, in 1960. Her father was Eugene "Gene" Nelson Shepard, a well-respected Civil Engineer. Gene was a proud descendent of the famous de Bohun family, decended from French royalty. The de Bohun family can trace its roots from the father of Sam Houston to King Rollo the Viking, who stormed the banks of Normandy in 500 a.d. to the present day lady Diana, and to Molly, as well.
Molly's mother, Jewell Dean, was a WASP pilot and played semi pro soft ball in the 40's prior to settling down to raise a family. In the mid-sixties, Molly's family moved to Florida, where her father was an engineer for DOW during the space program. In the late sixties, Gene and the family were transferred back to the Houston area through DOW, from which he retired in the early seventies. It was at that time that her father took a position with the TDC, and the family moved to East Texas, where Molly spent her teen years. Throughout her youth, Molly studied music, art and drama. She was an avid poet, photographer, painter and singer. Molly loved to read, and by the age of ten had read the complete works of Lewis Carroll, (ALICE IN WONDERLAND); Laura Wilder (LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE), and many others. Molly had three siblings.
Molly attended Sam Houston State University, first as a RTF major, and then transferring to their drama dept., where she starred as a lead in such plays as BUS STOP, and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. In 1980, Molly moved to Dallas, Texas to attend The University of Texas at Dallas. There she starred in "COMPANY", "OUR TOWN", among other plays. Molly graduated in 1982 with a B.A. in theatre, in three years, on the Dean's list. Molly was 21 years old.
Throughout the early to mid-Eighties, Molly was a professional actress in Dallas, starring and originating in many new plays, including CHARLES HARRALSON SHOOTS HIS CORVETTE SOMEWHERE NEAR VAN HORN; COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN; HONDO; LION IN WINTER; EBENEZER SCROOGE, BABY WITH THE BATHWATER; FRANKENSTEIN; and many others. She had several day jobs during this time as well, one of them working at the Dallas Cowboys Headquarters for the DALLAS COWBOYS WEEKLY. Molly became friends with The New Bohemians, and enjoyed going bowling with them in the middle of the night at Don Carter's lanes, and other silly shenanigans. In the mid-eighties, Molly had her only daughter, Madison, whose father is SaMi Chester, star of CONTACT, NYPD BLUE, LILLY IN WINTER, and many other movies and television programs.
It was at this time that Molly moved to Austin, Texas, and began writing plays, as she worked her day job at Dell Computer, and concentrated on raising her daughter. Molly's first play, GRASSHOPPER SUMMER was selected for a full mount production based on the first act alone by Big State Products, run by the esteemed Austin-ite, Jim Fritzler. Molly became a Permissions Correspondent with Holt, Rinehart and Winston publishers in Austin, and was later promoted to Permissions Editor. Molly still acted and was a singer, even at this time, and the Austin Chronicle said Molly's vocals were "creamy smooth, but oh-so-soulful". During that time, Molly wrote DOG, and THE MAN WHO WOULD BE HENRY MILLER; AND THE NEXT MARILYN MONROE.
In the late 1980s, Molly transferred with Holt, Rinehart and Winston to their parent company, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in Fort Worth, Texas, and became Photo / Permissions Editor, and then, within three years of starting with HBJ/Holt - became Senior Photo / Permissions Editor. It was at that time that she became Artistic Director of the TCAA theatre there in Fort Worth. By the time the 1990s rolled around, Molly had moved to Deep Ellum, in Dallas, and had her own Art Gallery and Performance Space, SKY GALLERY. There she self-produced and directed THE MAN WHO WOULD BE HENRY MILLER; AND THE NEXT MARILYN MONROE, which starred Helena Prince, to critical acclaim and standing room only houses. She also helped to give emerging Texas avante garde artists shows of their new works such as David Nelson, Trippy Thompson, and Stephen Prince. One guest to an art show stated, "Is this a 'wet paint' show? Man, I love it!"
In the mid-90's Molly settled down with her daughter in the beautifully historic Oak Cliff area of Dallas, which was the first suburb of the city. Molly wrote INTERLOPER, which was produced at the Fort Worth Theatre at the Scott; saw DOG performed at Theatre Too in Dallas, and had workshop productions of a number of her new works-in-progress, including TABULA RASA. Molly also directed a number of workshop productions of her own work, as well as other emerging playwrights. By this time, Madison was attending Sidney Lanier Arts gradeschool. The two took a trip to New York City, for a staged reading of TABULA RASA mounted by their friends Phil Hernandez and Joanne Zipay, of the Judith Shakespeare Company in New York. At that reading, a private backer offered to fund a full-mount of TABULA based on that staged reading, and a year later, TABULA RASA was produced by their company Off-Broadway, starring Eve Holbrook, to critical acclaim. A year later, DOG was made into an art film, directed by Mary Hestand. Molly played the cafeteria lady in that piece. DOG was also published in BEST MEN'S MONOLOGUES of 1998.
By the late 90's, Madison and Molly decided to try their luck in a bigger venue, and by September, 2001, they had moved to Los Angeles, where Madison attended the Los Angeles High School for the arts, alma mater of Josh Groden, Jenna Elfman, and many others. In 2003, Molly married her longtime sweetheart Daniel Berke, and the family happily settled down in the Toluca Lake area of Los Angeles, near Hollywood. Molly began editing for a major crafts manufacturer there in L.A. Molly's latest work, HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET? is a piece delving into the murder mystery of Thelma Todd.
