Catherine Stewart

Catherine Stewart

Catherine Stewart is an applied theatre artist, making performance work created through participatory processes. Specifically, as a writer, director, media designer, and facilitator working in theatre and film she has developed her practice as part of the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, as a Creative Community Fellow at National Arts Strategies, and as a certified facilitator of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response...
Catherine Stewart is an applied theatre artist, making performance work created through participatory processes. Specifically, as a writer, director, media designer, and facilitator working in theatre and film she has developed her practice as part of the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, as a Creative Community Fellow at National Arts Strategies, and as a certified facilitator of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. She is a recent alum of Company One’s PlayLab Unit where she developed her latest play, You, Me, and the Woodsmoke, which was named a finalist for Bloomington Play Project's 2022 Woodward/Newman Award. She has a BA Honours in Theatre and Performance from the University of Leeds, where she was awarded the White Rose Scholarship for Enterprise for her work in developing sustainable creative economies, and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Goddard College.

She is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America, and Playwrights’ Center. You can view her work here on the New Play Exchange and at her online portfolio at makecreatemore.com.

Plays

  • You , Me, and the Woodsmoke
    Determined to rekindle their friendship, two women meet for a weekend around the campfire with combustive results.

    Julianne's mind races as a snarl from the forest reverberates, illuminating the uncertainties that have silently crept around the tent she shares with her friend, Margo. As their campsite fills with distant riffs from the undergrowth, a once-shared soundtrack becomes...
    Determined to rekindle their friendship, two women meet for a weekend around the campfire with combustive results.

    Julianne's mind races as a snarl from the forest reverberates, illuminating the uncertainties that have silently crept around the tent she shares with her friend, Margo. As their campsite fills with distant riffs from the undergrowth, a once-shared soundtrack becomes increasingly jarring until the melody of their past no longer binds them. A question lingers in the air — who were they when they first met, and how can they navigate the winding trail of their connection two decades later?

    You, Me, and the Woodsmoke invites contemplation on the evolving nature of platonic relationships. Like their friendship, the forest holds secrets, and as the weekend unfolds, so does the ignited drama of their intertwined lives.
  • Doctor Doctor
    The corridors are rife with tumbling troupes of medical staff spouting knowledge, nuns on a mission from God, board members more concerned with snacks than salaries, and clowns trying to provide their best medicine. All the while patients are searching for a way to survive in a system that strips them of their humanity. Everyone is after a little bit of care, but who can they turn to if the hospital itself can’...
    The corridors are rife with tumbling troupes of medical staff spouting knowledge, nuns on a mission from God, board members more concerned with snacks than salaries, and clowns trying to provide their best medicine. All the while patients are searching for a way to survive in a system that strips them of their humanity. Everyone is after a little bit of care, but who can they turn to if the hospital itself can’t remain healthy?

    Doctor Doctor is a five-act surrealist drama which draws on the traditions of farce and vaudeville to tell the story of seven characters trapped inside an American hospital.
  • Intimate Surveillance
    When disgraced entrepreneur Mina James sits down with storied journalist David Mendez, she quickly asserts control over the narrative. However, this reporter isn't interested in a scintillating profile on her latest technological invention. Instead, David intends to make Mina reckon with the question, who can you trust if technology becomes part of our intimate lives?
  • Outsider
    Kae is trapped. Inside her room, inside her body. While facing a long recovery from a debilitating accident, she teeters on the edge of her infinite abyss. Visitors come and visitors go, but there's a voice in her head that’s hanging around. As she spirals further into her own universe she’s left questioning whether taking a single step will lead her in the right direction, and back towards the outside.
  • Island Funeral
    Frank led a solitary island life, so when his kin come ashore to lay his body to rest they are left to reconcile their own relationships with the lobsterman. When the end comes there is more than Frank’s land and legacy at stake as the mourners struggle to unearth common ground.
  • Good Lazy Women
    Claire intends to sit on her friend's couch, eating toast, while everyone around her anticipates the election of the first female American president. But when pushed to participate the veneer of her apathy cracks, revealing a desire for political progress that conjures visitations from women who know what it takes to run for president.

    While exploring the prominent political speeches of...
    Claire intends to sit on her friend's couch, eating toast, while everyone around her anticipates the election of the first female American president. But when pushed to participate the veneer of her apathy cracks, revealing a desire for political progress that conjures visitations from women who know what it takes to run for president.

    While exploring the prominent political speeches of Victoria Claflin Woodhull (candidate in 1870), Margaret Chase Smith (candidate in 1964) and Shirley Chisholm (candidate in 1972), Good Lazy Women looks at one woman’s modern-day relationship to the world of politics, political parties and the people that vie for our votes. Using archival political rhetoric and verbatim text from voters, this play immerses the audience in the question, ‘why isn’t America ready for a female leader?’
  • At The Table
    “We sat here. We fed our child, and her friends. We fought, and played. Talked politics, religion and war. You looked at me for all those years. You never straightened the painting that hung crooked on the far wall. Eating here no longer fills my heart with joy. Who will I cook for? Who will wash the dishes? This was our table, Charlie. This was your place at our table."

    Funny, tender, and...
    “We sat here. We fed our child, and her friends. We fought, and played. Talked politics, religion and war. You looked at me for all those years. You never straightened the painting that hung crooked on the far wall. Eating here no longer fills my heart with joy. Who will I cook for? Who will wash the dishes? This was our table, Charlie. This was your place at our table."

    Funny, tender, and ever so tasty. At The Table whisks together a bounty of stories that tackle our sticky love affair with food. Pull up a chair and join us for the world premiere of this provocative new play, an immersive theatrical experience that explores family, food, and the way we eat.

    In 2006, writer/director Catherine Stewart inherited her grandmother’s collection of cookery books, cut-out recipes, and scribbled notes from the kitchen. From that myriad of memories, Stewart has created a work that explores the complicated world of food production and consumption. The heart of this play captures the joy of wholesome family cooking that warms us all.However, as we delve deeper into the subject of our food, some indigestible truths begin to surface.

    (As part of the experiential performance, audience members are encouraged to enjoy a family-style dinner - which was originally created by chef Sam Ostrow (Block Six).)
  • Over the Fence
    Susannah, with her clipboard in hand is ready to change hearts and minds until she rings the doorbell of Marjorie Temple. As a new peer-led recovery center plans to move in next door Susannah and Marjorie confront their own bias surrounding those in recovery, and the ones they love.

    The one-act play was the winner of the 2017 Prescott Park Arts Festival "30 Pages in 30 Days" Competition.