What’s your deal? Who are you and what’s your story?
Hi! I’m Katie Croyle. I was born and raised in the very small town of Harvard,
Massachusetts. I’m currently living in Providence, RI as an MFA Acting student at Brown
University/Trinity Rep. I’m an actor, theater maker, dancer, yoga teacher, camp counselor for
life, teacher, sister, partner, daughter and sometime pirate. I’m a Bryn Mawr graduate. An
intense dog lover. I have a theater company in Philadelphia called Ninth Planet. We make
original feminist dance-theater performances and are currently working on an interactive dance
piece for babies and their caregivers (check us out: www.ninthplanet.org). When I’m not acting
or doing yoga I’m most likely opening a bottle of rose, traveling to the closest beach or making
dinner with my sweet, sweet family.
What most excites you about in taking on this acting opportunity at TAM?
I’ve never run four shows in rep. Or three. I’ve done two because that’s typical. But TAM is
anything but typical. It’s challenging and exciting. It’s fast and intense. It’s fun and scary. I’m so
thrilled to be taking on all these beautiful shows with this fantastic group of artists.
Why Shakespeare (or classic theatre)?
I love that Shakespeare surprises me. Take a play like Twelfth Night. I’m thinking, “Jeez, 1614
England/Italy/Wherever, no way is this relevant or funny. It’s literally 400 years ago.” And
yet—it’s hilarious and timely. Twelfth Night is a story about gender performance, queerness and
love; a play about seeing and being seen. Four hundred years later and the relationships,
human emotions and language still ring true. That is incredible staying power.
Who is your role model, and why?
My former acting professor, Catharine Slusar. She was the first female artist I had ever met who
had created a sustainable life for herself as an actor and artist. She had an amazing acting
career, great teaching job, a beautiful family of daughters and an artist husband. They even
owned a house. I had no idea you could make a life as an artist. She showed me that a fulfilling
creative life is possible if you set your mind to it.
You can have dinner with any three powerful women in history. Who would you
choose and why?
Gertrude Stein, Julia Child, and Virginia Woolf. I would like to see who preferred gin or vodka in
her martini.
What is your super power?
I was a camp counselor at an all-girls YMCA Camp on Lake Ossipee for many, many years and
I learned to be EXTREMELY enthusiastic. So I would say my super power is to find the fun in
the mundane, the pep in my step, and to cheer you on at the finish line.
Describe yourself in three alliterative words.
Bouncy, benevolent, biting.