When it comes to their work, Katie Mae loves three things: supporting projects from beginning to end, being on their feet, and constantly interacting with others.

Like many theatre-maker stories, Katie Mae’s began onstage, but they grew to find the offstage prep work and creative conversations more fulfilling over time. Dramaturgy brought both a deeper understanding of the full creative process and the skills of website curation and script coverage. Katie Mae’s sophomore year came with a love for theatre directing, directing many sketches for Tisbert Sketch Comedy, short shows for CMU Drama’s annual playground, and even organizing a festival of Shakespeare works.

Katie Mae had an inverse journey to film: their passion for film analysis soon transformed to a curiosity on all aspects of filmmaking. As someone who enjoys learning by jumping in the deep end, Katie Mae’s first time on set was directing a twelve minute short film (currently in the final stages of post-production) of a script they wrote with fellow drama classmate Phoebe Lloyd. Since then, Katie Mae likes finding any way onto a set.

Katie Mae found administrative experience through their work as Artistic Director and later Director of Artistic Training for Scotch'n'Soda, being on troupe for Tisbert Sketch Comedy, and working in a box office for the Pittsburgh Symphony and Pittsburgh Cultural. Katie Mae jumps at the chance to discuss better ways to make projects happen and encourage members of a creative community.