After graduating from high school, she spent a year taking a theater internship and traveling to the UK to perform as a musician before enrolling in Stanford in 1977.
After dropping out after her second year to work as a theatrical production manager and lighting designer in San Francisco, she enrolled at New York University (NYU) in 1980, where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in drama in 1982.
During her ten year membership in the group she served as a dramaturg, script doctor, lighting designer, actor, and director, while also separately performing as a singer and guitarist.
[citation needed] After moving to San Francisco and failing to secure a record deal for two years, Herzen attempted to independently release her album, entitled "Soup's on Fire".
A few years later, she hired David Neidhart and Suzi Reynolds, record industry veterans, to help her relaunch her music label with the distribution deals needed to make it have a chance at success.