An Interview with Kate Paxton
Actress/teacher/milspouse Kate Paxton's Spotlight and Stars program spreads the love of theatre to children and the community. Such a dive into history, imagination, and togetherness is certainly good for the soul.
MilspoFAN: Tell us a little about yourself, your journey as a military spouse, and where you are today.
Kate: I grew up in England in a small county called Rutland. I have always loved travelling and it was my love of travel that took me to a teaching post in Singapore, which in turn meant I was on holiday in Australia, which is where I met my husband – he was there on a vacation from a post in Afghanistan!! I have actually only been a military spouse for the past 5 and a half years, but my husband was active duty for 23 years and now works for the government on Tyndall. We met on a dive boat in the Great Barrier Reef, fell in love and within the year, we were married! I couldn’t move out to Panama City until we had sorted my visa, so I finally moved here on 5th October 2018… 5 days before hurricane Michael hit the town… quite the welcome!
MilspoFAN: How did you get started in theater?
Kate: I worked as a professional actress in London back when I was in my twenties. After 10 years, I decided to change direction and retrained as a teacher. When I was teaching in Singapore, I started directing children’s shows with a great friend of mine, and it took off from there! When I moved here to Panama City, I decided to see if I could continue directing. With this in mind, I started researching and found a wonderful homeschooling group and started teaching their drama program. I started off with Romeo and Juliet but then covid hit, and that was cancelled. The following year, I directed Twelfth Night along with two other drama classes for different age groups. Each year after that, I did a couple of Shakespeare’s plays and then started working on musicals. Meanwhile, outside of the homeschool group, I started working for an after school theatre company and then set up my own… Spotlight and Stars! In the past 5 years, I’ve directed over 15 shows – some musicals, some Shakespeare and some small plays for younger performers… And I love it!
MilspoFAN: What was it like being an extra on the first Harry Potter film?
Kate: I got started in extra work when I first moved to London after studying drama at University. It seemed a fun way to earn money. I ended up doing it for 2 years before going to drama school. The very first job was sitting on a train on Platform 9 ¾! Little did I know that the movie was to become a huge hit. It was a fun couple of years as I got to hang out on film and tv sets with a group of friends (when you do it full time you see the same face on each film set!) and whilst it didn’t spark my journey into stardom (!) it was great fun and interesting to see the different movies getting made!
MilspoFAN: Describe for us your creative work and the type of directing and acting that speaks the most to you.
Kate: I adore Shakespeare, and it is fair to say that it is my love of the Bard that got me into both acting – the first show I remember being in when I was at school was A Midsummer Night’s Dream – and directing. When I moved here, it was my love of Shakespeare that got me the job at the homeschool group which started my directing journey here in PC. It is interesting to me that I chose to set up a theatre company that ‘specializes’ in musical theatre, because whilst I love musicals, they were never my first choice to act in or to direct! But I love them now! Trying to get people here in Panama City interested in taking Shakespeare classes has always been a bit of a struggle, however, I am persevering and whilst the homeschool group are always keen to keep the Shakespeare class going, I’m also just tentatively adding short 6-week classes to the Spotlight and Stars schedule too!
MilspoFAN: What is it like starting your own after school theater company?
Kate: It has been so much fun! I have a wonderful all female team of very talented coaches and have some really supportive, kind parents who have stuck with me from the start! Whilst I love being in control of what I do and when I do it, it also means that I often end up working all hours and find it hard to switch off!
MilspoFAN: How has your role as a military spouse impacted your work as a director- creatively, logistically, or otherwise?
Kate: To be honest, it hasn’t. Although, having said that, it is only because of the benefits I get as a military spouse and having a generous husband that allows me the freedom to pursue these dreams, and not have to get a 9-5 job!
MilspoFAN: How do you cultivate your creativity?
Kate: I try to see as much theatre as I possibly can… both locally, on trips to the UK and on trips to NYC! It is important, I think, to keep seeing other people’s work and to keep interested in what is being done by others, to keep what I do fresh and interesting. Working with children means that I’m always kept on my toes, and their enthusiasm feeds mine, and vice versa!
MilspoFAN: What’s next for you?
Kate: As I mentioned earlier, I’d like to keep building up the desire in the younger generation to learn about Shakespeare, as I think this is a really firm bedrock upon which to build acting skills… and a love of theatre! So, I hope that the Shakespeare program I’m putting in place now can grow and encourage others. At the moment, I’m trying to put in place a homeschool daytime group, so I’m hoping that will find its feet here in this community too. I also hope to start working with adults, directing shows for the community with Spotlight and Stars.
MilspoFAN: What is the most practical piece of advice that you would give to other artists?
Kate: Keep organized, chat to those in the community who are like-minded and have done or are doing what you do. And get plenty of sleep!!
You can find Kate and Spotlight and Stars Theatre online at:
www.spotlightandstarstheatre.com
Facebook: SpotlightAndStars
Instagram: @spotlightandstarstheatre