by Taylor Bryant
University of West Georgia alumna Katie Watkins, who was named Hand2Mouth Theatre’s first artist-in-residence, will be premiering her first play in summer 2014 in Portland, Oregon. The play, “Paper Doll,” demonstrates that despite the prevalence of flat female characters and male-dominated media, men and women are more similar than different. As part of her artist-in-residence agreement, Katie will do a preview showing of her work-in-progress in January 2014. Hand2Mouth has donated rehearsal space at their studio, Shout House, for Katie and her team to practice the play.
Katie graduated in 2010 with a degree in theatre with a minor in marketing. “UWG contributed to my career path in countless ways,” Katie explains. “The theatre department gave me the hands-on experience of running a theatre from the inside out, which I would not have gotten had I received conservatory-style training. I have also applied my experience in marketing (as a theatre marketing student assistant from 2008-2010) as I completed two arts marketing internships upon graduating - one at Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and one at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts.”
Katie’s mentor and professor Shelly Elman referred her to Portland Playhouse's Acting Apprentice Company, which she applied for and was accepted into in 2011. She then moved to Portland and says she fell in love with the city and its vast array of artistic opportunities.
In addition to working on her own play, Katie is performing in “A Christmas Carol” at Portland Playhouse, where she is on staff as their audience services and communications manager. In the show, Katie plays the characters Elizabeth and Molly, performs with the flute and penny whistle and sings the alto line in four-part harmonies of traditional Christmas carols. She is also the assistant director for a production called Pep Talk, created by Hand2Mouth Theatre. She was recently the assistant director for their adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's novel “The Left Hand of Darkness,” which premiered last May in collaboration with Portland Playhouse.
“You are whatever you say you are,” shares Katie, for students looking for a career in theater. “If you introduce yourself as an artist, then that is what you are. Own your career choice and be proud of it! Also, never ever for a single day stop working hard. People are watching everything you do in some facet or another, and hard work is always recognized and appreciated, even if it takes a while for people to notice. Finally, if what turns you on artistically does not already exist in other people's work, make it yourself. Don't be afraid to go out there and start working. Produce staged readings with your friends, devise a solo piece or send your work out to theatres. Sometimes you just have to do it yourself, and that's so much more rewarding anyway.”
