Hi, I’m Katie!
I fell in love with the arts at a young age. My mom loves to tell stories of how I’d orchestrate “holiday shows” with my sisters after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I’d managed the schedule, pulled together costumes, created handmade playbills, and served as the Director, Choreographer, and Stage Manager, where I sported a Britney Spears-esque headset and would make sure that all the “actors” (er, my sisters) were sticking to the approved schedule. Now, I’d say my management skills have sharpened since those days, but my love for the arts has remained the same.
I’ve always enjoyed having my hands in helping curate productions whether it’s in the a black box theater at my undergrad, in a convention center in China, or on a Broadway stage. I vividly remember the moment I realized I wanted to be a creative manager. I was sitting in the rehearsal hall at Seattle Repertory Theater as a 22 year old Production Management Apprentice during a rehearsal of Pullman Porter Blues, which was a new play written by Cheryl L. West and directed by Lisa Peterson. I felt like time froze as I looked around the room watching Ms. West feverishly writing and re-writing new parts into the script as it was being blocked in rehearsals, watching Ms. Peterson talking to the Stage Manager about the blocking of this scene, watching the actors going over the choreography in the corner of the room, and seeing what felt like 100 people in a room working towards the same end result. I just knew I wanted to be in rooms like this one for the rest of my career.
I have worked nationally and internationally as a Managing Director, Production Manager, Producer, and Stage Manager for companies like South Carolina Children’s Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Spoleto Festival USA, CalArts Center for New Performance, Triad Stage, Charleston Stage Company, and Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Wuzhen, China. I worked as Producing Associate for the Tony Award and Grammy Award winning Best Musical Hadestown during its pre-Broadway runs in Canada and London and now on Broadway. In addition, I have been an Adjunct Professor of Theater at Greensboro College and University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) teaching courses in Stage Management and Production Management, and the Producing Associate for the Tony Award and Grammy Award winning Producer, Dale Franzen. I have an MFA in Creative Producing and Management from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
Currently, I am the Managing Director of South Carolina Children’s Theatre in Greenville, SC, whose mission is to empower and inspire a new generation of changemakers through theatre. I oversee the administrative side of the $1.7M non-profit organization which includes administration, development, finance, marketing, and operations.
In my spare time, you can probably find me at the dog park with my dog, Fitz, working towards “favorite aunt” status with my 3 year old nephew, traveling, or binge watching a new show on some streaming network.