Catherine Wade: Associate artistic
director, Young Actors Theatre
Catherine Wade played just a minor
role when she first appeared on stage at
Young Actors Theatre, but that didn't
bother the 6-year-old Indianapolis girl
one bit.
She was stage-struck, and she still
remembers the feeling, 20 years later. "The show was 'Sleeping Beauty,'."
Wade said, "and I was one of the little
village kids." She also recalls that her older
brother, Justin Wade, played the Prince,
which may have inspired a little sibling
rivalry. "You've got to start small, but I
always wanted to have bigger roles," she
said.
These days, Catherine Wade does play
a bigger role at Young Actors -- as
associate artistic director. (Of course, Justin still has top
billing, since he took over as artistic
director about five years ago, after
company founder Charlotte Kaufman
decided to retire.) But both Wades are in a position to
pass along the magic of live theater to
budding actors.
Catherine, now a 26-year-old
communications manager for the Builders
Association of Greater Indianapolis,
also works part time at Young Actors --
YAT for short. She became increasingly involved with
the theater after graduating from
college. "I really feel like so many kids
don't go down the right path in life,"
she said. "They don't have positive
people to look up to when they're
young."
Young Actors breaks down into three
groups: YAT Teenz for students in Grades
8 to 12; YAT Kidz, (for Grades 3 to 7)
and YAT Youngsterz, (for kindergarten
through Grade 2). Catherine teaches the two younger
groups, and directed 47 children in a
recent production of "Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory."
"The impact we have, it's definitely
long-term. We try to teach life skills
through our classes -- discipline,
respect, teamwork, dedication,
motivation, creativity. Those are all
skills you need for the rest of your
life."
Like Catherine, Carson Meyer, a
sixth-grader who played Mrs. Beauregard
in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,"
has worked her way up to more prominent
roles since she joined YAT. "I went from being a squirrel in my
first show to a parent in the last one,"
Carson said. "Catherine has given me so
many opportunities. She has given lots
of kids opportunities." And what would Indy be like without
YAT? In Carson's opinion, "Very boring."
