Joanie Sigal Brings Everything
She’s Got to the Stage of Life
If all the world’s a stage, Joanie Sigal delivers a stellar performance in every role she plays.
An actress/singer, businesswoman and community activist, Joanie Sigal puts Scientology to use in every facet of her life.
Sigal was in college when she first heard about Scientology.
“I was a drama major at the University of Hawaii,” she says. “I was also taking a class in religion, and one day a Scientologist presented a talk about the fundamentals of Scientology. What struck me was the emphasis placed on communication.”
Up to that point, Sigal’s orientation to communication was television, radio, and the other methods of mass media of the day—the technology of broadcasting information. But here, the emphasis was on the human factor—the improvement of a person’s ability to convey and understand ideas. Sigal was struck by the relevance of this skill in the field of acting.
“I sort of knew that was what I was doing, and the reason I did well in my field, had to do with communication,” she says. “This really got me interested.”
When Sigal enrolled on a communication course at the Church of Scientology of Hawaii, the change in her life was almost immediate.
“I noticed that things I put my attention on started to go the way I wanted,” she says.
According to Sigal, it is no accident that three months later she was cast in the Hawaii production company of a Broadway musical, making it possible to do exactly what she loved—perform nights and weekends and study Scientology during the day.
She and husband Steve have been happily married for 33 years, and the couple’s two sons, Adam, 29, and Brian, 26, are also active Scientologists. Sigal says Scientology helped her tremendously when it came to being a mother.
“I had no experience or parenting skills when I had my first son,” she says. “But what I learned in Scientology applies as much to children as adults. I was able to maintain communication and clear up any problems the boys had. I also had tools to address behavioral issues and help them make ethical choices in their lives. They thrived in that environment and both are doing great.”
Now residing in Clearwater, Florida, location of the spiritual headquarters of the Scientology religion, Sigal is director of business development of a marketing company. She has also held executive and board-level positions in public relations, human resources and investment management firms.
Sigal also demonstrates a high level of concern and commitment to the community, evidenced by the level of her participation. She has worked on public relations projects for several nonprofits, raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities and served on the Communications Advisory Board of the Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County, Florida.
As chairperson of Clearwater Community Volunteers, a group she directed for several years, she helps produce the annual Easter egg hunt, charity fashion show and Clearwater Winter Wonderland.
She is also on the boards of the Clearwater Jazz Holiday and on the Sunscreen Film Festival of St. Petersburg.
But despite the busy schedule of her work in business and the community, Sigal always makes time for the arts. A current project is “Broadway and Beyond,” a musical review in which she and co-star Tom Godfrey perform songs from Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Cats, The King and I, West Side Story and other classics at concerts, events and corporate parties.
Active, effective and happy, Sigal looks forward to many more years of the same and better.
“Scientology has answered every question I had about life,” she says. “I am so comfortable with and certain about who I am.”
For more information on the way Scientologists use Scientology to improve their lives and the world around them, watch the “Meet a Scientologist” videos at www.Scientology.org.
The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, which has now been viewed by millions of visitors.