Otterbein University sophomore Kate Bindus is now seeing her dreams come true as she spends countless hours at Cowan Hall helping with various productions. The 19-year-old BFA student has dreamt of being a stage manager in theatre productions since she can remember. Bindus did not know that her dreams could become reality.
Bindus first got her toes in the theatre world in her early years at Kenston High School, about 2 and a half hours North of Westerville. She did not start out in a specific place in the theatre; she did not start out as an actress or as a part of set crew. As she floated around and got a taste of the different positions that theatre holds for one, Bindus found that her persistence and determination was best suited for stage managing.
Bindus became very determined to make her future profession stage managing. Her senior year she applied to Otterbein University in hopes of being accepted into the theatre department as a Theatre Design and Technology major specified stage manager. To get into the theatre program, a portfolio and interview is required. Bindus sent in her portfolio of all the productions that she had been a part of, had her interviewed and soon enough received the news that she had been one of the eight people selected to enter the program. She was now on her way to making her dream come true.
As freshman year of college began, Bindus realized making it as a stage manager at Otterbein was going to be no walk in the park.
“Being a DT and trying to make it as a stage manager is very much a weed out program. You go from being the number one person stage manager at your high school to being in a room filled with number one people at college. It is very cut throat,’’ Bindus said.
Since coming to Otterbein as a Theatre Design major trying to make it as a stage manager, seven of her fellow stage managers in her class have dropped being stage managers because of the challenging work. Bindus faces nights where she will be working on a set, helping on a run through, working on sound, and a lot of paper work until the early hours of the morning. Bindus says that she would not trade in all of this work for anything. It is her hard work that is helping her dreams come alive.
“Kate always did more than she needed to. I would tell her that she wouldn’t have to come to the Saturday morning work calls, but she’d be there, often waiting in the parking when I arrived. She claimed to love sawing, drilling, painting, and pounding,” Steve Hoffman, Drama Department director of Kenston High School, said.
Nothing has changed since Kate entered the theatre program at Otterbein.
““Kate is very organized, which helps make her paperwork as good as it is. Kate is also very good in a crisis, which is another skill a stage manager needs. Kate’s very adaptable and that is a great quality. She is able to adapt to doing different kinds of jobs and working with different types of people, which will serve her well as a SM,” senior and stage manager Grace Murrin said.
Bindus has been building up her resume here so far. She has worked on a few productions, but has had the opportunity to be an assistant stage manager to Murrin on the most notable productions of After the Fall and Les Miserables.
This 19-year-old Chagrin Falls native is not just stopping at these productions.
“My goals for the rest of my time at Otterbein are to stage manage as many productions that I can. I would love to get an internship for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. That would be amazing. At some point I would love to stage manage the opening ceremony for the Olympics and do a lot of Broadway productions. Watch out world! Kate Bindus is coming!” Bindus said about her future endeavors.
To see some of Bindus’ recent work, check out Dance Concert, opening Thursday December 5, 2013.
“Know your strengths and your weaknesses. If you are not strong enough, you will not make it in the department here. Focus on yourself and you’ll be fine. I am doing that and my dreams are coming reality,’’ Bindus said.
