The Actor Next Door

Although Gilb has lived everywhere in San Diego, she calls her San Carlos home, situated right up against Cowles Mountain, her favorite spot.

Gilb said she loves her home’s convenience to Lake Murray and her son Knight’s ability to participate in the San Carlos Little League.

“I love the hardware store on Jackson,” she said. “I may pay a little more, but they’re so nice and helpful it’s worth it.”

“It’s a nice little town.”

Ironically, Gilb, who celebrates 30 years as a thespian this month, had her first role in “Our Town” when she was a student at Granite Hills High School.

“I was Mrs. Soames. She cries at the wedding,” said Gilb, who continues to harbor a soft spot for the role. “They just did it at Cygnet Theatre. I went and saw it and thought, ‘There’s Mrs. Soames.’”

And while we civilians may think acting is glamorous, she said it’s like a regular job, “except you work eight weeks and then you don’t. You work four weeks, and then you don’t.”

“Every now and then I think, “Why can’t I work at a factory, gluing flowers on headbands?” she said. “But I love acting.”

Hilb considers herself a character actor. “I’ve been lucky,” said Gilb, 52, who appreciates the longevity afforded character actors in the business. “I’ve never been an ingénue – that’s not my thing.”

At press time, Gilb was saying goodbye to her role in “Walter Cronkite is Dead” and getting ready for her new part in “The Great American Trailer Park Musical.”

“[Trailer Park] is really funny,” said Gilb. “It’s not Shakespeare, but it’s really fun.” But be warned: The musical, which runs Nov. 5 through Dec. 4 on the Lyceum Stage, is raunchy.

“I hope we don’t offend anyone,” laughs Gilb, who plays Bad-Ass Betty from Highway 301. “We didn’t write it. We’re just doing our job.”

Gilb is a familiar face in San Diego theater. She’s done “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” for 10 years – this will be the first year in a decade she won’t be in the Dr. Seuss musical.

Gilb has starred alongside Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits and Jim Belushi in “The Pirates of Penzance.” She has also performed “Singing in the Rain” on Broadway in New York; “Suds,” a ‘60s musical she co-wrote; and “Back to Bacharach and David” off Broadway.

She’s also quite the resource when it comes to reciting San Diego theater alums who have gone on to the big screen. Her friend, Kathy Najimi – yes, that Kathy Najimi – graduated from Crawford High School, and “High School Musical” lead Vanessa Hudgens was once Cindy Lou Who at the Old Globe Theatre.

Unsurprisingly, Gilb has seen a lot of Cindy Lou’s come and grow. “Girls will come up to me and ask, ‘Do you remember me?’ I go, ‘You must be one of my Who kids,’” she said.

Gilb said La Jolla Playhouse and the Old Globe are just a couple of examples of San Diego’s thriving arts community. “There’s really good quality theater here,” she said. “We’re real lucky. People from L.A. are always coming down, trying to take our parts.”

As a professional actor, Gilb has both her Equity Card and membership in the Screen Actors Guild.

Even with her vast experience, don’t expect Gilb to cut ties and run off to Hollywood. Having lived there for a while, she said it’s not for her. “It was kind of awful,” she said. “I’m not cutthroat like that. There are a lot of desperate people there.”

It helps that Gilb is an absolute fan of live theater, where an actor really has to have the goods.

“There’s no hiding it,” said Gilb, who admits she enjoys the challenge of making every performance fresh and new.

While Gilb may love the “Our Town” way of life here in San Diego, she said it’s sad to see how society has changed. “I can’t just send my boy out to play,” she said. “I feel bad for the kids, that they have to be supervised constantly.”

And yet Gilb has found a way to gather her community around her. All of her son’s past photos from Halloween are backstage at the Old Globe. “That kind of makes me feel good,” she said.

As a single parent, Gilb said she is also fortunate to count several of Knight’s classmates’ parents among her good friends. “It’s really nice to be able to have people like that,” she said. “It’s been one of the sweet things about having a kid – meeting people.”

Nevertheless, Gilb doesn’t exactly broadcast her career to friends and colleagues. “I get embarrassed. I worry they’ll think I’m a big weirdo,” she said.