Artist of the Issue: Kate Hamilton

By CHARLOTTE CLEARY
Life editor

Senior Kate Hamilton got her start acting in the Poly third grade production of “The Lorax” and has held a passion for performing ever since.

Hamilton participated in both the seventh grade play and eighth grade musical production, and since then she has been a valu­able asset to the Upper School theater program. As a freshman, she took Theater History and Ap­plication and joined the interme­diate acting class her sophomore year. That same year, she played Mustardseed in the fall produc­tion of Shakespeare’s “A Mid­summer Night’s Dream.” Her ju­nior year, she took on the role of Mary McGregor in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” participating as a member of Advanced Acting, which is a typically a course for seniors only.

This year, Hamilton will play one of the leads in the fall play, “The Man Who Came to Din­ner.” She will perform the part of Margaret Cutler, secretary for ten years to the character Sheri­dan Whiteside. This year’s fall production is particularly unique because the cast largely consists of underclassmen, with only six or seven seniors in the cast.

“The underclassmen bring so much energy and enthusiasm to the production, and are also very patient with us, as it has been a lot of work to adjust to the differ­ent style of a 1940s play which has a quickened pace and dif­ferent type of comedy. It’s been a learning experience for every­one,” says Hamilton.

“Kate is one of the few actors to spend two years in the Ad­vanced Acting Ensemble, based on her exceptional ability,” says Tina Cocumelli, who is director of this year’s fall play. “Her cur­rent role in the fall play has chal­lenged her to use those skills to create a character in the theatri­cal style typical of American the­atre in the 1940s; the physicality, dialect and pace of the work is quite unique and specific, so she has had to work very hard to cre­ate this style. Kate is a leader in the Performing Arts Program.”

Hamilton plans to participate in an acting program in college, although she doesn’t plan on majoring or minoring in any per­forming arts. She would love to continue participating in plays or join an improv group because she says, “It’s just too much fun!”