Cat Hampton has burst into NextStage with enthusiasm, creativity and talent! Many of us met her at last year's Storytelling when she told about a very transformational experience while playing her Irish harp in a Children's Hospital. She stole our hearts again this year telling us about becoming a "dog person" when she and her husband Larry adopted their adorable beagle, Lilly. And this holiday season she wrote, directed, choreographed, designed the costumes, and collaborated with Larry to design the set for NextStage's Holiday Show, Silver & Gold. And topped that all off by acting, singing and playing harp in the show!
Amazing, because she has learned so much on her own. She has always loved music. Her father was a jazz musician and so there was always music in their house. As a child she did some lessons in piano, clarinet and voice. Cat had heard someone playing the Irish harp, and decided she wanted to learn, so she could accompany herself singing. She bought her harp and a "teach yourself harp in 12 lessons" book, and taught herself how to play.
In Southern California, she started accompanying puppet shows at the Marie Hitchcock theater in Balboa Park, and soon added narration and storytelling to her repertoire, performing at local libraries. Moving to Northern California, she found the perfect job when she was hired by Shari Gallegos to be the Amesti Elementary School librarian. She had so much creative freedom there, telling stories and making up fun games to engage the children.
She has always been intrigued by the creative process and was looking for more creative outlets. She started writing plays when her husband Larry was working in San Francisco. She joined a play writing class when she didn't know anyone in the area and found out "I have a lot stored up to say!" She found another great book on playwriting and the stories started flowing from her. She delights in creating characters, conversations and stories. She is now very active with an online playwriting and acting group.
Her inspiration for Silver and Gold was wanting to create a sense of magic of the season. More than just a musical review show, she wanted to tell a story, and to give the cast a chance to shine and grow themselves. She opened the show with the Solstice song, because she wanted to create in the audience the warm feelings we seek when the days grow shorter and the nights can seem so long. But she also wanted to create something fun. As a writer, one of her most rewarding experiences is when people laugh at the humor in her lines. And they did!
Cat loves all aspects of her self-taught journey of creative discovery - she loves performing, acting, playing the harp, singing and writing. Mostly she loves people coming together to create something that is magical and fun. Such a great addition to our NextStage team!