Inner Peace

Sue Peace is an actress, director, teacher and storyteller who is known by many within the community for her bubbly personality and kind heart.

Sue was born in Mississippi and with her father in the oil business, the Delaney family travelled often.

“As hard as it may be to believe, I was a very shy child,” Sue says. “My mother says I didn’t even really leave her side until I was about 16.”

Sue enjoyed school and had a genuine love for learning but had trouble with reading comprehension at a young age. When she was enrolled in a class for improvement, Sue became an avid reader and began to fall in love with the idea of performance and storytelling.

She married her high-school sweetheart and best friend, Patrick.

“Our parents were best friends and our grandparents were best friends and they all worked at the same oil company together,” Sue says. “Pat and I were best friends before we became boyfriend and girlfriend. We’ve been married about 43 years now, and we’re still just as close.”

Sue decided she would pursue her interest in teaching because she enjoyed working with children. Sue has taught as high as third grade, but preschool and early childhood learning is what she enjoys most.

“It’s such a special line of work,” Sue says. “I tell everybody that it’s not something you just say ‘Oh, I’m going to do.’ I really believe you’re chosen by God to work with children. You’re either in or out, and I only take people who are in.”

Sue taught in Baton Rouge and when Patrick was transferred to Opelousas, Sue taught at a private school and continued to do volunteer work.

Sue had always had the storytelling and performance spirit, but it was not until she arrived in Houma in 1986 that she was truly able to embrace her calling.

Sue did not work for her first year in Houma, to ensure that her three sons, Rick, Bryan and Andy, were settled in their new schools and lives. Afterward she became extremely involved with the community starting with a volunteer position at Terrebonne General Medical Center.

“I wanted to try something different,” Sue says. “I’m trying to work the wheelchair and I’m bumping this poor lady into the elevator, being friendly the whole time of course, but that’s when I decided to go back to what I knew and loved.”

In 1987, Sue took a volunteer position at First United Methodist Church, where she was eventually hired to be a preschool teacher. When the FUMC Children’s Learning Center director retired, Sue was hired as the replacement in 1989.

Sue says her friend and coworker Toni Hicks, who taught a preschool class next door, was the one who coerced her into auditioning for a community theater production. After Sue and Toni performed a skit for their students and it was a hit, they decided to find a local audition and the following week there was an article in the paper about auditions for “Steel Magnolias” at Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne.

“When I went to pick her up she was standing in the driveway fussing about how scared she was and saying she didn’t want to go, but I think she got the part the minute she opened her mouth,” Toni says. “She is just a natural. The audience just could not get enough of her because Sue’s timing is like no one else’s.”

Sue never realized that the people critiquing her and deciding her role would eventually become some of her closest friends.

“Before the audition sitting in Toni’s car I was about to die,” Sue says. “But we went in and it was like coming home. It changed my life and I fell in love with the theater and everything that it represented. This shy little girl was no longer shy. She got out there and had a good time.”

Karen Schilling, director of “Steel Magnolias” and current Le Petit president, says she originally had someone else in mind for the part of Truvy, but Sue was exactly what she needed.

“Even though Sue had no real experience on the stage, it was her personality that won me over,” Karen says. “She has that stage presence and the personality that catches your eye and captures your heart.”

Toni says beside the theater, the thing that brought her closer to Sue was their shared love of children.

“We have the same main goal for life, to treat children kindly and to teach them about respecting themselves and other,” Toni says. “The only way to do that is with an honest love for children.”

Sue became a veteran on the stage and realized that her love of children and theater was something she wanted to fully embrace.

“Anything to do with children is really my passion and my love,” Sue says. “I’m also probably one of the few people who likes teenagers. I like working with them and listening to them.”

Sue began working for South Louisiana Center of the Arts as a children’s director. Her love for children’s theater eventually lead to the start of her own production company with Jeanne Scott called P.S. Productions.

Sue’s history with Jeanne also goes back to auditions for “Steel Magnolias.”

“Little did I know, she would become my confidant, my business partner, my sister and my everything,” Sue says. “She is one of my closest friends.”

In fact, Sue and Jeanne had been friends for a few years before they realized they even share the same birthday, which they now celebrate together. Jeanne says it is hard to explain how the connection developed so effortlessly.

“As time went by, we just seemed to have a bond that kept building like kindred spirits,” Jeanne says.

“I think some people are meant to be a part of your life and they cross your path and I just figured that some kind of way our friendship was meant to be.”

Sue and Jeanne have directed children’s theater together for more than 16 years and also work together at FUMC.

“She’s my bosom buddy,” Jeanne says as she hums the tune from the musical “Mame.” “There’s a song that goes, ‘We’ll always be bosom buddies, friends, sisters and pals.’ That’s the way I feel. She’s a friend, she’s a sister, and she’s a pal.”

After Sue became established as an actress and children’s director, a unique opportunity made itself available through the Terrebonne Parish Library. She became involved with Prime Time Family Reading Time, a literacy program that travels to various schools to provide engaging storytelling for children at risk.

“We are able to ask the kids questions, and the parents become involved,” Sue says. “It’s such an awesome feeling because you see the difference you make in the children’s lives and their understanding of the written word.”

Sue is also Missus Claus every year at Christmastime, when she tells stories and takes messages from children to give to Santa.

“I love Missus Claus,” Sue says. “Some children are afraid of Santa Claus so I do Missus Claus all over Houma. I usually sit down with the kids and find out what they want for Christmas and report back to Santa.”

Sue collects storytellers and children’s book. Storytellers are made by Native American tribes and each one has different storytellers. She picks up her burlap bag with the phrase “Everything will be alright” written in bold letters and pulls out a book.

“I keep this book with me called ‘Listening with Your Heart’ with different little sayings about how to live your life. I keep things like this around me to always remind me that it’s not what happens to you; it’s how you handle it. We all go through things in life, but I feel like everything we go through is to help somebody else. If I go through something, then you can learn from my experience and mistakes.”

Sue gives the example of a conversation she had with a young man on a recent flight. He told Sue that his mother wanted him to get married, but he was not sure if that was really what he wanted.

“I told him what I always told my sons,” Sue says. “If I give you vanilla ice cream every day, you don’t really know how you feel about it. But if you try things, like a little chocolate, some mint, pistachio, then you can tell if you want vanilla ice cream every day. That’s like life. You’ve got to try a lot of things before you settle down and then you may decide you like vanilla ice cream with cherries on top. I have to say in this life, I’ve tried a lot of things and it’s been good.”

Rick Peace, Sue’s oldest son, says it was always entertaining growing up with his mom because she would always come up with games, stories and adventures. Sue encouraged her children’s love of music and imagination.

“She taught me that showing kindness is not being weak,” Rick says. “She was a mother first, but she was also my friend. She doesn’t parent me anymore, but we hang out and talk. Sometimes she even asks me for advice.”

Sue says family will always be a top priority in her life.

“With these kinds of hobbies you don’t really have time for anything else,” Sue says. “I make time for the important things, like family and charity. My greatest joys are my granddaughters and my grandson. I want to make sure they really know me.”

She says her family is also often the inspiration for some of her funniest moments.

“Theater people are character watchers; we have to be,” Sue says. “One of my favorite characters in life is my mother because she is just a good woman, and I probably look up to her the most.”

Sue often uses her mother as a character for inspiration on stage or in standup comedy because of her sweet southern charm.

“It mortifies her, because she says things like ‘Alright now Suellen,’ which is my full name by the way, ‘birds of a feather flock together,’” Sue says with a big grin. “I always tease saying I was named after the loser sister in ‘Gone With the Wind.’ I say ‘Momma, if you want to give someone some good self-esteem, you name her Scarlet, not Suellen.’”

Sue says none of these experiences would have been possible without her faith.

“I am a very spiritual person,” Sue says. Her eyes tear up slightly as she takes a deep breath to explain. “I believe God is always with us and I believe that he has a beautiful plan for each and every one of us, we just have to listen and know that he’s speaking to us. I guess the kicker for me is that God forgives. It’s like with your children; you would forgive them of anything. We are God’s children and he forgives us for our shortcomings. He knows I have a ton and he loves me in spite of them.”

Sue says her focus is on living with kindness and without judgment. She says her trust is in the ability of God to pull her through whatever she may face in life.

“I always try to see the sense of humor in things and I think God has a fabulous sense of humor,” Sue says. “I’ve been through a lot of stuff in my life, and he’s given me a lot of great things in return.”

With more than 100 shows under her belt either directing or acting, Sue says she will never forget “Steel Magnolias,” the show that started it all.

“You always remember your first love and for me that was ‘Steel Magnolias,’” Sue says. “It’s an experience I will never forget because I kept thinking you could get fired from community theater. Every time I came home I said ‘Pat they’re going to fire me today.’ But it was wonderful and it will always be so close to my heart.”

Sue says after a mishap during the run of “Steel Magnolias,” she realized she was going to survive in the theater world. The show had very quick costume changes and although Sue’s character Truvy wore pants for most of the show, in the last scene she changed into a dress.

“I noticed my cast mates were coming to hug me on stage every chance they got,” Sue says. “Everyone would come in and hug me really tight and pull. This was my first play on stage and I didn’t understand why everyone was changing what we had practiced… Apparently the back of my dress was stuck in my pantyhose and Christmas was showing.”

At the very end of the scene, Sue’s character had to turn her back to the audience to look out the window.

“I noticed the audience was laughing,” Sue says. “I was thinking what’s wrong with these people. In the play, this girl has just died.”

Luckily, when Sue went backstage for curtain call she fell down the stairs and her dress properly arranged itself before she went back on stage.

“After that, I knew it couldn’t really get worse,” Sue says. “My greatest love has always been making people laugh, making people happy and making people step out of their own world for a little while.”

Sue says at the end of the day Houma is truly where her heart lies.

“I’ve been here so long now, it is home,” Sue says. “Houma embraced me with open arms and I love Houma and would do anything for this community. And the community in return has given me a lot of opportunities. Houma has done a lot for me, and I would do anything for Houma.”

Sue Peace jokes during a photo shoot with the Gumbo Entertainment Guide.

KAMI ELLENDER | GUMBO ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

Sue Peace smiles for her graduation photo in 1972.

COURTESY PHOTO

Glen Gomez, Sue Peace, Jeanne Scott and Larry Schilling act in “There Goes the Bride,” a Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne production in the 1990s.

COURTESY PHOTO

Sue Peace plays with students Jace Jarveaux and Brooklyn Boo at the First United Methodist Church Children’s Learning Center.

KAMI ELLENDER | GUMBO ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

Sue Peace sits next to her husband Pat in this family portrait. On the back row are their sons Andy, Rick and Bryan.

COURTESY PHOTO