Jill Kocalis Scott Biography Born and raised in Southern California, Jill began her entertainment career at an early age, entertaining her babysitters with song and dance routines, mostly from the 1970’s musical Grease. Her first stage role was none other than Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the La Habra Depot Playhouse. She got to carry a real dog named Betty who was sweet as could be, though her fur made Jill’s arm sweat and itch a lot! Jill went on to perform a wide range of community theatre roles throughout her youth and teen years, as well as performing in high school productions, fundraisers, and community showcases. Following high school, and still performing as often as possible, Jill invested three years as a major in political science with a minor in English from Cal State Fullerton, then changed her major to geological science (really!), then speech therapy, then ultimately settled on a TV/FILM degree in Broadcast Journalism. Jill reported and wrote for the award-winning Daily Titan and landed a cool intern stint at KCAL 9 News, where she found out that wasn’t exactly the life for her. Somewhere in the midst of all this, she got a position working for acclaimed director Tim Burton and enjoyed nearly four years on the Warner Hollywood lot where she worked hard, met lots of celebrities, and met lifelong friend Derek Frey, founder of Lazer Film Productions. During that time, Jill was booking TV and independent film work, including allowing Mr. Frey to cover her in fake blood and space goo, be eaten by possessed dolls, and fall for a seriously creepy and inarticulate sea captain in the now cult favorite Captain Crabcakes. Inspired, she decided to go back to her acting roots full-time. To support herself, she began substitute teaching at a middle school in Burbank - not a career for the faint of heart. Jill was told she was good at it, and higher-ups encouraged her to get a teaching degree, so that’s just what she did! She earned her Education Specialist degree at Cal State Northridge and followed up that effort by earning a Masters Degree in Special Education, also from CSUN, in 2008. In 2009, she married a wonderful guy named Jarod Scott, whom she met while starring as Cathy in the Jason Robert Brown musical The Last 5 Years at the Repertory East Playhouse in Newhall, CA. They “nerded out” and had a Lord of the Rings Medieval Fantasy wedding. On the stage, Jill has portrayed countless roles, most recently the Narrator in Santa Clarita Regional Theatre’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Christine in Kopit & Yeston’s Phantom at the Canyon Theatre Guild. Other Regional credits include Maggie in A Chorus Line, Belle in Beauty & the Beast (SCRT), the Ovation nominated Jekyll & Hyde (Cabrillo Music Theatre), and Camelot & JC Superstar (Performance Riverside). Other favorites roles include Eliza My Fair Lady, for which Jill won a Goldie Award for Best Actress and the SCV Critics’ Choice Award for Artist of the Year, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Laurey in Oklahoma!, Leisl in The Sound of Music, Cinderella in Rodger’s and Hammersteins’s Cinderella, and Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, the Musical.  Having been a professional TV/Film artist for ten years, Jill added professional stage actress to her resume when she joined Actor’s Equity, the professional stage performers’ union, in 2009. Jill has studied with coaches throughout So Cal area, and was privileged to work under the direction of Stephan Morrow alongside Mark Rydell at The Actors Studio in Los Angeles. She currently studies voice with the renowned Mary Grover and is training in improvisational comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Hollywood, CA. Today, she teaches high school English part-time and in addition to stage, commercial and film work, Jill continues to build success as an artist in the voice-over industry. She resides in So Cal with her husband and four demanding cats.