Interview with Jane Sibbett by Alex Cosper, June 30, 2015 I intervewed actress Jane Sibbett on Monday, June 29, 2015 through Facebook following our high school's 35 year reunion. Jane was unable to make the reunion in Woodland due to work in Los Angeles, but I figured that interviewing her online would create extra memories for the archives. She and I were both part of the Rio Americano High School Class of 1980 and we both were involved with the school's radio station, KRAT. KRAT, which no longer exists, at one time occupied 90.1 FM on the dial and had previous been at other frequencies. The signal's one mile radius coverage allowed it to share the same frequency with El Camino's station KYDS. Students ran KRAT under the direction of teacher Chuck Gebhardt, who also taught public speaking. Gebhardt has influenced several students who went on to find work in local or even national media. Jane was KRAT's music director during an era when disco and new wave were popular, along with rock bands played on KZAP. It was a structured station so that students learned how the real world of radio worked. At the same time, students had plenty of music to choose from for their shows. The music could be heard every school day from the campus loud speakers before and after school, as well as during lunch and at breaks. While I went on to work at KWOD 106.5 through an internship at Sac State, Jane went to UCLA and studied acting. Ultimately, her experience at KRAT and UCLA led to building confidence in acting. In our interview she credits Chuck Gebhardt as well as UCLA in shaping her career. We covered Jane's television career and her involvement with women's crisis centers. In the interview she reveals a tragic event that led to her support for this cause. She also touched on how her positive energy has been channeled into interviewing spiritual teachers through her streaming service, Streaming For the Soul. One of the main areas of focus in the interview was Jane's role as a lesbian in the TV show "Friends." She talks about her relationship with the cast and the extrememly popular show's impact on society. We will do a part two of the interview at some point to cover her film career and her work as a producer making documentary films. Read the entire interview here. |