To say this woman does it all is an understatement. From acting and singing to body positivity and inspiring bravery, Julia Megan Sullivan has moxie and is not afraid to use it.
Julia moved to Danville her freshman year of high school from the suburbs of Chicago and jumped into the art and theatre scene with both feet. That is when I first met her during Danville Light Opera’s 1994 production of Oliver.
From there, Julia studied computer science in Pittsburgh but decided working in isolation was not for her. New York City was calling her name as that is where she “always wanted to be”. That is where she got to do “exactly what I wanted”: act, sing, tour, dinner theatre, stage combat…the list goes on and on. Touring became a way of life. “Sometimes it was hard. What city am I in? All the hotels started looking the same.”
After time went by, Julia finally decided to come home to Danville where her mom was. She had some health issues she needed to address and was not sure where she wanted to plant herself. She considered a lot of places, but Danville was where she decided to plant her roots and begin to share what she had learned to “grow other people.”
“I got so much from this community during high school. I care about the art community here and I feel like I can gain the most by sharing.”
Julia has been involved in acting in films (my favorite being House of Thaddeus for Roselawn Productions), Red Mask, DLO Musical Theatre, The Beef House Dinner Theatre, several places in Champaign, filming companies including the Sleepy Creek web series, coaching, and one of her biggest passions – spreading a positive message about loving yourself and the body you live in. She applied and got selected to speak at the National Body Love Conference where she learned a lot about herself and got to share her story.
After that, Julia has become involved in the AWARE program at the University of Illinois, Body Positive with photographer Bricie Troglia, and many other organizations that help woman become empowered. She works as the creative director for Trigard during the day and manages to find time for all of her other amazing talents, passions, and community services in her spare time.
Julia is also excited about the fact that more and more people are supporting Danville. “I don’t think we have reached that turning point yet. Bad news sticks more than the good stuff. But it is coming. People need to continue to push for higher quality. We need to do more to compete with our surrounding cities. I applaud all the work that is going on but I think we all need to push to do it better.”
Julia believes that we all need to work on the idea of “good enough” – we can always be better. “There are so many events and opportunities to grow and do better.” One example Julia gave was of the upcoming Balloons Over Vermilion event. “This is a great example of bigger and better. There is a different energy about the same old event.”
Bottom line, Julia is an amazing, inspiring, important daughter of Danville and our community.
To get inspired and learn more about Julia:
- www.juliamegansullivan.com
- http://www.facebook.com/juliamegansullivan
- www.facebook.com/yesittakesmoxie
Peace & Love,
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What a beautiful article about a beautiful and talented lady! Danville is so lucky to have someone with her experience to be involved in so many aspects of our community. Thank you Julia.