Brush Strokes Your Support of HCA in Action
Winter 2022
Photo by Sam Cote
Catherine Cote is building community through theater— thanks to a strong foundation from the HCA. This is her story…
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s a third grader, Catherine joined Enter Stage Left Theater (ESL), now HCA’s resident community theater, for its production of Aesop’s (Oh So Slightly) Updated Fables. Unlike her character the tortoise, Catherine’s talent and love of theater took off running. In the 18 years that followed, Catherine played roles in 11 ESL productions–ranging from a groovy rockstar to a motherly dalmatian, a red-headed orphan to a struggling doctor, and a chocolate factory reporter to a grieving New Yorker. While the shows, roles, and sets changed over the years, one thing remained constant: the support of ESL’s instructors and the sense of community they instilled. One such instructor was ESL founding member Mary Scarlata-Rowe.
“This is who I was looking for in a leader,” said Mary of Catherine. “She was a good kid–humble, sweet, talented, yet confident.” Constantly in an environment where personal growth, practice, and teamwork were daily necessities, Catherine found a supportive community and lifelong friendships at the HCA.
“My number one philosophy is to make better people through theater that, in turn, become better actors,” Mary said.
“Theater was such a community experience–it was, and still is, a family,” she said. “I really got to know people on a deeper level through the stories and experiences we shared, both on- and offstage.”
Every year, 200+ children work with instructors like Mary at the HCA, who help them grow not only as actors and artists, but as people. “I definitely grew up at the HCA,” Catherine said. “Over the years of musicals, revues, acting classes, and voice lessons, Mary, Kelly [Grill] and Mark [DiCampo] helped me find my voice and gain the confidence to use it.”
When Catherine was 18, she began studying psychology at College of the Holy Cross, where she became involved in theater on campus to find and build her new community. In 2017, she traveled to Australia to study abroad at the University of Melbourne.
The first time Catherine remembers feeling this way was when she was cast as the title role in Annie Jr. in 2007.
While excited about her new adventure, Catherine noticed how frustrated she felt by the lack of deep 1
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