Toni Ruscio Soccer Mom
What does being a powerful woman mean to you?
Taking up space and owning all that I am. I’m a leader. And it has taken me a long time to stop feeling bad about myself when people—men in particular, but not always men—tell me I’m too loud, that I’m intimidating, or that I have a strong personality.
Well… I do have a strong personality. And I’m proud of it.
I’m bossy because I’m a girl boss, and I’m finally learning that I don’t need to apologize for that. Being a powerful woman means knowing your worth, using your voice, and refusing to make yourself smaller just to make other people comfortable.
What is something you have done, overcome, created, or accomplished that makes you proud?
I’m finishing my first children’s book, which features a smart, curious little girl who wants to be a scientist and make the world—and our planet—a better place. It’s a STEM-forward book, and it’s especially important to me because I want to inspire little girls to follow their dreams, whatever those dreams may be.
I want girls to grow up knowing that they belong in the sciences, in leadership, in the arts, in the boardroom, in the laboratory—anywhere their dreams take them. If a little girl reads my book and thinks, “Maybe I can be a scientist, too!“ then I’ve done what I set out to do.
Who is a woman who has influenced, inspired or empowered you—and why?
A few years ago, I had the honor of playing Annie Cannon in Lauren Gunderson’s play Silent Sky, and it remains the role I’m most proud of.
Annie Jump Cannon was one of the pioneering women in astronomy. She was brilliant, determined, and a trailblazer who broke through barriers in a field dominated by men.
Growing up, I loved science. I actually wanted to be an astrophysicist, but I never felt like I was smart enough. No one really encouraged my love of science, and more than once I heard some version of, “Science and math are a man’s world.”
Playing Annie made me think about that little girl I used to be—and how different things might have been if someone had simply told me, “You can do this.”
I’m trying to be that voice for the next generation. That’s one of the reasons I’ve started a children’s book series. I want little girls to see themselves as scientists, explorers, leaders, creators—whatever they dream of becoming—and never believe that the world is telling them they can’t.
What is something you know about yourself now that you didn't know when you were younger?
That I don’t have to change who I am to belong.
For a long time, I thought the lonely feelings I sometimes had meant there was something wrong with me. Now I know that those feelings can disappear when you surround yourself with people who lift you up, make you laugh, and let you be completely yourself.
The right people don’t ask you to be smaller. They make room for you to roar.
What do you bring to your family, your work, your community or the world that you believe matters?
I try to push people to speak up for what they believe is right and to never be afraid to use their voice.
Meta recently took away my Instagram and Facebook pages, and I can’t help but wonder if speaking my mind about what’s happening in this country and in the world played a role. Losing those platforms was incredibly frustrating, but it also reminded me that my voice doesn’t belong to a social media company.
They can take away a platform. They cannot take away my voice.
I will keep speaking up. I will keep fighting for the things I believe in. And I will ROAR until the day I die.
What is one thing you will never apologize for being?
Exactly who I am.
I’ve spent too much of my life worrying about being too loud, too opinionated, too passionate, too much.
I’m done apologizing for taking up space.
What brings you joy?
Sitting in my yard. A really good belly laugh. The ocean. My friends and the people I love. Creating something that didn’t exist before. And those little moments when I can just stop, look around, and think, Damn. I’m lucky.
And finally: What makes you roar?
Fierce, bold, powerful women.
Women who speak their minds. Women who refuse to shrink themselves. Women who lift other women up. Women who have been told they’re too loud, too bossy, too emotional, too ambitious, too much—and decided to be exactly that anyway.
Those women make me roar.
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Performance Dates:
September 25 & 26 at 7:30 PM | September 27 at 2:00 PM
October 2 & 3 at 7:30 PM | October 4 at 2:00 PM
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