Name: Dale Griffiths Stamos
Hometown: Santa Barbara
Major: BA in French from UCSB, MA in Romance Linguistics and Literatures from UCLA
What made you choose UCSB?
I was raised in Southern California and I knew I wanted to go to one of the UCs. After touring a number of them, UCSB was my first choice! I liked the campus, the quality of scholarship, the people I met, being near the sea, and the idea of living right off campus in Isla Vista.
What have you been up to since graduating from UCSB?
How much time do you have? After graduation, I went on for a master’s degree at UCLA in Romance Literatures – specializing in French and Spanish. After getting my master’s, I began teaching at a college preparatory school in Pasadena (Polytechnic School). But while at UCSB, I had continued a love of acting that had begun in high school and took many drama classes. While there I also learned to play guitar (I was already playing piano), and I began to write songs. So once I graduated from UCSB I did some acting, wrote lots of songs, and began to write plays. When I married and moved to Venice Beach with my husband, I decided to quit teaching and throw myself into my creative endeavors, with playwriting eventually becoming my main focus. My short and full length plays have been produced throughout the country, and won several awards. I have also written and published poetry in a number of literary journals, was a co-writer on an Emmy-nominated after school special, have written a play with original music, and have written and co-produced two award-winning short films that have screened at multiple film festivals (and am in post-production with a third). My feature length screenplay, One White Crow, has been a semi-finalist and finalist in two major screenwriting competitions, and an official selection in two film festivals. My newest writing endeavor has been to co-author a nonfiction book about modern day Renaissance women (RenWomen).
What is your favorite memory from your undergraduate years?
When I lived on El Nido in Isla Vista, I had a lot of musician friends. They would spontaneously bring over their guitars at any given hour of the day or evening, and music would happen; it was lovely. I will also say that I have wonderful memories of my favorite French teacher – the elegant, sophisticated Madame Delattre.
You are writing a new book called RenWomen: What Modern Renaissance Women Have to Teach Us About Living Rich, Fulfulling Lives. What is RenWomen about?
The subtitle kind of says it all. I was privileged to interview and profile sixteen amazing women who are not only multi-talented, but groundbreakers and visionaries. These women are incredibly inspiring and show how one can live an ever expanding life, full of curiosity, learning, adventure, taking risks, and passion! Their credo: Don’t let anything or anyone stop you from being fully who you are!
How do you think the book RenWomen could impact young, college-aged women?
First I think it will help them move past labels. Certainly the kind of label that insists you be just one thing. No one is just one thing. We all have so many parts of ourselves, and in today’s world, in particular, learning how to be flexible and adaptive, and to master multiple skills, is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. This book can inspire and guide young women, with its stories of passions pursued, hardships overcome, possibilities embraced and life lived at full tilt.
Your jobs have varied from playwriting/screenwriting to teaching and consulting, and now to authoring a nonfiction book. What motivates you to keep working and keep moving?
LOVE. Love of the work, love of the creative process, love of my students, love of my collaborators. Whether I’m in a rehearsal for a new play, on the set of a short film I’ve written and co-produced, or teaching a story structure workshop, I truly love it all. I’m not saying it’s not hard work, it is! But when you’re a creative artist and teacher, you cannot not do it. It’s in your blood and in your soul.
Your book revolves around women’s rights. What do you think still has to be accomplished in the feminist movement?
Consistently the women in our book talked about the feminist movement being incomplete. Yes, women have been able to enter the workplace in greater numbers (though still not at equal pay most of the time!), we have more women lawyers, doctors, politicians, artists, CEOs, academics, and scientists (though these numbers still need improving!) – but women are STILL the ones who are largely responsible for raising children, taking care of domestic duties, and caretaking elderly parents. The lack of childcare options, flex time, and parental leave through both government programs and the workplace are frankly, shocking, especially when compared to many other western countries. We are losing the full power of our workforce when there are women who take time to raise children but find no way to re-enter their former professions, or feel they must choose between family or work. And those women who stick it out and “do it all” often suffer from lack of sleep, and exhaustion. Considering women are 60% of our college graduates these days, it seems that solutions to these issues must come, and come soon. And by the way, it’s not fair to men either, who need more options themselves when it comes to balancing their work lives and their families.
Lastly, what advice would you give to young women here at UCSB?
Expect the unexpected! I know many of you have been told: “Here is the path. Get the grades, do the work, get the references, be responsible, plan it all out,” and yes, you should do all that, these things can only serve you. But you also need to understand that you will not be able to control everything. Life is far too unpredictable for that. So also learn to allow surprises, to be flexible, to make new discoveries, to throw yourself into something you love even if you don’t see the immediate benefits. Learn to roll with the punches, to benefit from failure, to keep picking yourself up and to keep going. Above all, trust in your gut, in that inner voice, it’s your surest guide.