Probably best to begin at the beginning. My parents, tim and ella Baar, gave me the gift of theatre even as i was raised in Hollywood. they also edu- cated me politically. they also sent my brother Carl and me to viola spolin’s young actors Company so we would be comfortable in front of people. By the time i was five i knew what was happening: my nursery school was “cooperative” and my teacher was called before the California un-american activities Committee. i also learned that, for all intents and purposes, there had been no blacklist in theatre.