Kate Clarke
Performer/Storyteller/Teacher

Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
I do a lot of things! I’m at this point where I feel like I’m putting on different hats every day. I’ll go from barista to teacher to actor to coach. My main pursuits, however, are developing the Little Riddles program through Conundrum Theatre Company as well as continuing my voice over career. With Little Riddles, my goal is to develop not only a passion for the arts in children, but to give them a well rounded “theatre education” teaching them about technical terms, and including them in the production process. In Riddles, kids were involved in every part of the production and even worked as their own stage crew and moved their own sets! We also had a goal to make Riddles a safe space for everyone involved, and it was kind of amazing how beautifully that developed through our time together.

How did you first become interested in art?
So, when I was a kid I was a part of this magical theatre program that really became my safe place. I was bullied pretty relentlessly when I was a middle schooler (I mean, who wasn’t in some way? Middle school is tough. Tougher when you’re an artistic kid!) Thankfully, my parents had enrolled me in this magical program and it not only became an escape, but it became a place where I could build the person I wanted to be. The skills I developed in that program carried me into a performance lifestyle — I wanted to sing and act and excelled at it and was lucky to study vocal arts at the USC Thornton School. There, I had to take a vocal pedagogy class and as part of the class I had to give voice lessons to another USC student, one I didn’t know prior. It was kind of amazing getting to work with a young woman and develop her skills, and so one of my first jobs out of college was teaching group voice lessons. From there, I actually ended up applying for a job at Oakwood Elementary School where I worked as a teaching assistant for five years. I learned SO much at Oakwood about early childhood development, but ultimately left Oakwood so I could return to what I loved, which was the arts. I have been working in voice over, but I’ve always been looking for a way to get back on a stage, and that’s where Conundrum came in! I’ve been performing with them, but of COURSE started missing working with kids, so the idea came to combine both interests into the Little Riddles program which just completed its first camp in July!

How does art enrich a community, and what are some ways people can engage with art in Burbank?
I was able to see the beautiful way art brings people together firsthand in the Riddles program this summer. Because we weren’t sure how many kids we’d get for our first program, the age range of the program was pretty wide open. Of course, that meant that on our first day of camp we had sixteen children ranging from five to fourteen, which is quite a big difference! Day one of camp was certainly nerve-wracking for that reason. The kids weren’t quite sure what to make of it when they walked in, in fact, the fourteen year old kept muttering about how he “hadn’t wanted to do this program” and we had several children that were incredibly shy and quiet. Cut to the end of the day, we have a room full of kids singing “Fathoms Below” and pretending to be swashbucklers and mermaids and sea creatures, and not a single kid sitting out. Every day of camp the kids came a little more out of their shells, and what was really cool, was the kids became one big happy family. The older kids often shepherded the younger ones around, and there was never a moment in which I felt any of the kids involved were the “odd one out.” Through their shared experience of making music and putting on a show, they developed a deep, trusting bond. This is an experience many of us in musical theatre know, and I’d say a lot of us do musicals for this reason! There’s something about creative collaboration that makes humans happy — it was neat to watch it unfold for the little ones!

In Burbank, I’d say the best way to engage with art is to be a part of the Conundrum community. Conundrum is an AMAZING group, and I can’t believe I’ve only known them for a year. So much has changed since then! Conundrum has several events that you can attend if you want to be a part of our community. One, we have our monthly piano night which is, at its core, live piano karaoke. Most often there is a theme, but you don’t have to stick to the theme if there’s a song you’re dying to sing! The energy in the room is SO amazing, it’s such a great crowd to perform for.

If you’re not so much for singing, you’re always able to come watch and hang out with us! It’s kind of like a little party. We also just announced the rest of our season, so look forward to the performances of (and auditions for) Rent, Seussical, and Little Shop of Horrors!

If you could share with our community one thing about art, what would it be?
Gosh…I guess I would say art is the truest form of communication. I think there’s something so incredible about human connection through an artistic sense. I’ve spoken a little about how it feels to bond with cast mates during the rehearsal process, but I’d say the same goes for any form of arts. Listening to a symphony, for example, everyone in the hall might be feeling different emotions. The emotions evoked can hinge on the tempo, the key, the way the instrumentalists play or the conductor leads. You’re going on your own emotional journey in response to the piece, so is everyone else. It is so fascinating to connect with people through the music and see the myriad ways people respond and the takeawaus they leave with. Same with how we look at paintings or sculptures or animations — something as simple as the way a painter used their brush can convey so much. I hope I don’t sound silly, I’m not really sure how to put how I feel into words. I guess, long story short, I have always found music to be the best way to express myself, and I still, to this day, find it’s the easiest way to sort through or tap into different emotions — it’s very helpful to work through grief or anger, for example, while belting out tunes in the shower.

To find out more about Kate and her work, visit her websites thekateusa.com or conundrumtheatreco.com.