ATP Spotlight Feature - Catherine Louis

       

 

You don’t have to hang around the Aged To Perfection Readers’ Theatre very long to understand that the membership comes from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels. Some participants have been involved in community theater throughout much of their adult lives while others never even imagined that they might show up on a theatrical stage—whether amateur or professional.

Catherine Louis was among this latter group. Although she appeared in a few musicals and dramas in her Detroit high school, adult life in New York City and Tampa, Florida never brought her stage aspirations beyond being an audience member. “Through all those years, I was attending plays, concerts, opera, ballet—in NYC, Tampa, LA, Chicago, London, wherever.” As much as she enjoyed these shows, she never found herself drawn to the performance arts herself.

“When I moved to Traverse City in 2017, I was looking for ART, found Old Town Playhouse, and immediately began attending every show I could.” Louis was soon struck by the impression that the performers were having a lot of fun. This led to some browsing at the OTP website where she read about community theatre opportunities there—including those to be had at their senior readers theatre. 

Louis soon found herself engaged in an internal ‘could-I, should-I’ debate. This was resolved after she had a serendipitous exchange with a high school classmate who had shared the stage with her back in 1969-71. He had gone on to a television and theatre career in Los Angeles. Louis says, “I decided to scratch that 50-year-old itch, and contacted ATP,” where she was encouraged to attend a regular meeting. Louis has been an active member since then and now serves on ATP’s Steering Committee.

Catherine Louis’ OTP story does not stop there, however. In 2018, after being cast in the ATP production of A Town Car For Sale, fellow member Larry Hains urged her to audition for a mainstage production. “Although I am not very confident socially,” Louis suggests, “theatre made me recall how much I enjoyed inhabiting a role.” In December of 2019, she was cast in the OTP studio production of Love, Loss, & What I Wore directed by Denni Don Hunting. When OTP resumed operation on the heels of the COVID pandemic, this show was moved to the mainstage for a second run. Thus began the MainStage career of Louis and she has been a fixture on the OTP and ATP stages ever since. On the MainStage, she appeared in Cinderella, Murder On The Orient Express, Something Rotten, The Christmas Schooner, Radium Girls, and most recently, The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon. Within Aged to Perfection, it is rare that a production is staged without her involvement.

Louis concludes that ATP, “. . . became a wonderful community for me and a welcome outlet for someone who knew exactly zero people in Traverse City!”