By Rosemarie Emanuele. Economists explain the idea of “opportunity cost” as the value of the next best way a resource could have been used. For example, the opportunity cost of the time spent attending college is probably greater than the value of actual checks that are written to pay tuition to that college, therefore making up the lion’s share of the “cost” of such an endeavor. Read more...

By Susan O'Doherty. Two years ago, I was cast in a play for the first time in over 20 years. Everything about it engaged me — the script, my fellow actors, the process of staging it. I was nearly paralyzed with anxiety on opening night, and when it closed a month later, I felt lost and unmoored. The other actors had lined up new roles, but I had been too immersed in the present to plan for what came next, and for several weeks I felt homesick for the cast and the theater. Read more...

By Susan O'Doherty. Over the past few years, I have stopped auditioning for plays. I have a few trusted director and playwright friends who call me when they have a part for a gray-haired woman, but in general I stick with films, videos and improv. Read more...