Today we’d like to introduce you to Kady Booth.
Hi Kady, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I spent much of my life within local community theatres. Starting in youth programming and eventually spending 4 years on the Teenage Musicals Inc. Board of Directors, I was involved in the arts throughout my entire childhood. I eventually went on to pursue my degree in theatre at Oakland University, where I graduated in 2021.
I didn’t know I would end up in a management role when I first fell in love with theatre. It wasn’t until I stage managed my first production at 15 that I recognized this path was an option in the arts. Fast forward 8 years to 2023, and I was stage managing my second show, this time at Bay City Players. After graduating, I had taken a few years off from being involved in theatre due to burnout and the pandemic, so entering the theatre world again was intimidating. Come to find out, it turned out to be the best decision of my life. After the show wrapped up, I discovered Bay City Players was hiring!
I have been the Managing Director at Bay City Players for just over 3 years now. I serve on the Educational Programming Committee, Playreading Committee, and Building Committee, and am also a Safety Chair for our organization.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being involved in the arts is rarely, if ever, a smooth road. Something most theatre lovers know all too well is the struggle with self-worth and being enough. When you enter an audition room, you are put on display, judged, and vulnerable. You give everything you have to those people in that room. And sometimes it doesn’t work out the way you want. That heartbreak, especially at a young age, translates into not being enough, and really impacts how you view yourself.
Couple that internal struggle with everything life throws at you, and you’ve got anything but a smooth road.
The one thing my personal traumas growing up taught me is that I have to pick myself up and persevere, and find joy and love in every single thing, because we never know when it will be gone.
There were so many times I wanted to call it quits with the theatre world, or take every negative thing that happened in my life and give it the power to rule the way I move forward. But, funnily enough, because theatre is inherently vulnerable, it’s also where I found myself returning throughout every struggle in my life. It was an outlet to navigate my feelings and express them through a character rather than myself.
Having the opportunity to manage Bay City Players now, my biggest goal when entering this space, with this influence, was to ensure our theatre was a place where people felt respected, safe, and valued. And that, whatever they might be going through in their personal life, they had a safe outlet for expressing and navigating their emotions.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Being the Managing Director of a community theatre that is still primarily run by volunteers is a rare and incredible experience. It also means I wear a lot of hats. I run the marketing and advertising for each show, create and send newsletters, perform safety checks, help recruit production teams, schedule maintenance work, revamp policies and procedures, expand different areas of programming, research and write grants, manage our social media, schedule exposure opportunities, and more.
There truly isn’t one thing I specialize in, and that’s part of the magic of community theatre. Everyone who steps into this building, staff or volunteer, goes above and beyond to get the job done. What makes Players unique is that it is rooted in collaboration. We would be nothing without our volunteers. I am honored to be part of an organization that puts such an emphasis on collaborative creation, and my job is to foster that and continuously ensure our theatre is a space where our teams feel respected, valued, and appreciated.
I am incredibly proud of the work that has been done since I was hired 3 years ago, and I am excited to see where our future takes us.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I learned what I have learned not due to one specific mentor, but because of the community of brilliant leaders and creatives that exists in this region. Take every opportunity to learn something from someone and apply it to your life. If it doesn’t resonate, then you know more about yourself and what you specifically want for your future. If something does resonate, then that’s great too, and you can start to take small steps in a more focused direction.
Networking is always intimidating, but just because it’s intimidating doesn’t mean you’re not meant to be in the room. If there are people you know you want to learn from, reach out and chat! Especially in the arts space, where there are so many different areas of focus, you can learn something from anyone you speak to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://baycityplayers.org
- Instagram: @officialbaycityplayers
- Facebook: Bay City Players
- Other: Tiktok – @baycityplayers
