by kathy Janich
Atlanta Journal
Comstitution
August 7, 1999

Sandra DeNise wants you to moo with her.

Moo. Moo! Moooooooooo! Such demonstrations are an everyday event in "Rent," the nationally touring musical that brings the Decatur native home this week.

Actually, DeNise would like to do more mooing herself. She's a "swing" in the company, which means she goes onstage only when someone else is sick, injured or on vacation. She also understudies the character of Maureen, the lesbian performance artist who carries a cowbell and channels an udderly fictional creation named Elsie. And although DeNise has gone on in the other roles, she hasn't yet been Maureen.

She's not complaining. "Rent" is the 22-year-old's first big job. After graduating from the Paideia School, she went off to New York University. Since graduation, she's been working at a gym in the West Village and auditioning as much as possible.

She's excited to be coming home, she says, and has ordered 14 tickets for the Aug. 14 matinee, when she'll go on as Mrs. Cohen. Her parents, Delores and Derry DeNise, still live in Decatur. And most of her extended family is in the metro area.

Has she ever had trouble paying her rent? Laughing, she answers, "Of course. Every month for the past year, but fortunately my parents have been helping me out." She describes a New York actor's life as a Catch-22, a juggling act of auditions, shows (hopefully) and jobs needed to pay the bills.

After Atlanta, DeNise will leave the "Rent" company she's called home for four months and move to the company based in San Francisco. She'll still understudy Maureen, but she'll go on every day as Mrs. Cohen. "That'll be nice," she says.