[Editor’s Note: In this series, Peekskill Herald profiles the “after life” of what certain individuals who graduated from Peekskill High School currently are doing.]
Many teenage girls love to be center stage. But never mind being the star of the show; Peekskill High School graduate Catie Davis dreamed of working behind the scenes.
From her days in the high school drama club, the 2009 graduate wanted to be the play’s director. “I joined the drama club as a sophomore because my best friend joined,” she recalls. “I also had a part in the show, but I really wanted to direct it,” she says with a smile.
The club’s adviser, Scarlett Antonia, let her direct a show with her, she explains. That was the beginning of a rich freelance career in theater directing for Davis, who at 33 has a robust portfolio of on-and-off Broadway, national and international shows to her credit.
After high school graduation, Davis earned a bachelor of fine arts in drama from the New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan, with a concentration in directing. While in college, she got a general production internship at nonprofit The Public Theater, which was near NYU.
“It was great exposure,” says the Jackson Heights resident. “The reason I did it was to get my foot in the door. Many big-name and up-and-coming directors would be there.”
Davis assisted the production managers, helping out in any way to learn the ropes; picking up props, running errands, and supporting late-night rehearsals. One of the productions she worked on is the well-known Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park.
She also hoped to meet Alex Timbers, a director whose work she admired, who would be working at The Public Theater. Davis was elated when she found herself working on a show that Timbers was directing, Here Lies Love. “He’s very generous and gets to know his directors and those he works with,” she notes. “He knew I was interested in directing, and curious about the work I was doing at NYU.”
“When the show ended, he asked if I wanted to assist him. I said, ‘Of course. I’d love to.’ Timbers was my mentor and helped me break into the commercial world of theater directing. I owe a lot to him.”
Since Timbers worked on Broadway shows like Beetlejuice and Moulin Rouge, Davis was able to quickly break into New York’s theater scene, directing many familiar shows, including Legally Blonde, In the Heights, and Xanadu, among others. Other works include, Forget Me Not, Ghost of John McCain, Magnificent Seven, and more.
She still assists on Beetlejuice productions, and was scheduled to travel to Australia in March to direct a show for two-and-a-half months. She’s also working on a cruise line’s production of the play.
Davis credits her career success, in part, to her Peekskill upbringing, where she grew up from age 2 after the family relocated from New York City. Growing up near Depew Park, where her parents, Glenn Davis and Jeannette Sanderson, still live, and playing outside a lot, fostered her creativity and fed her imagination. “We would ride bikes and pretend they were horses,” says Davis, a skill that comes in handy when thinking about staging and scenery for theater shows.
“From early on, I had that sort of creative imagination to dream up entirely new worlds and stories. Both my parents were creative; mom a writer, dad a graphic designer. My imagination was fed from a young age. We also did a lot of reading.”
“Taking charge, setting rules and organizing my play was always what I did.”
She also credits the high school theater club for instilling her appreciation of theater arts.
“I did well in school and had good parents who encouraged me.” Her younger brother, Nolan, who belonged to the high school drama club, also works in theater, as a rigger on the Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas.
As Davis was building her career, she worked a side gig as a nanny to supplement her income, but now, she devotes full time to directing successful shows.
She hopes that one of her original shows, Indigo, will take off in both the United States and United Kingdom, where it’ll premiere next year. “We were over there in November and did two presentations, inviting theater-owners, artistic directors and production collaborations. It went well. We’ll figure out which theater has an open slot during the season.”
The life of a theater director is busy, according to Davis, who is juggling six different projects in various stages of development. Add to that a husband, Jake DeGroot, who also works in theater –- they met on the play Here Lies Love -– and who recently started a new tech business. And a rescue dog, a hound mix.
“It’s not unusual for a play to take six to 10 years to a final, large production,” says Davis, so patience is a virtue. “It’s a long game,” she adds. “But it’s my career. When you’re a performer, your age determines what characters you can play. With directing, I can only get better and riper with age. I’m just getting started.”
She hopes that one day her work will bring her to Peekskill’s Paramount Theater. “I loved growing up there,” says Davis, who visits her family every month or so.
“I would love to do a show in Peekskill. It would be full-circle. It feels like it’ll happen, I just don’t know when.”
