Bates spent a couple of years working for regional community theatre across Upstate South Carolina, then on to the world-class New York City theatre scene.
As a scenic painter, Bates works on the finishing touches that convey to the audience the mood of the play—happy, sad, suspenseful, whimsical—it runs the gamut. Bates explains that theatregoers see the handiwork of scenic painters—everything that’s on the walls, including paint, wallpaper and brick. Then there’s furniture and other props.
“When I first moved to the city, I had a job at a commercial scenic shop and we worked on shows for Broadway and Off-Broadway. Some of the shows we worked on were ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘The Great Gatsby,’ which is on Broadway right now,” she said. “I moved to a regional theatre in New Jersey that was called the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. I had a contract with them for a couple of shows and I was their head scenic painter over there.”
Bates currently freelances design work for Tom Carol Scenery, with whom she’s worked since arriving in New York. She’s also a display artist and a carpenter at Anthropologie in New York’s Chelsea area, creating eye-popping window and in-store displays that fit the brand’s upscale reputation.
“I definitely took my favorite hobbies and passions and made them my career because I love them so much. A big rush I get is the constant change and creativity that has to be poured into each new show,” she said. “Usually you work on a project or a show anywhere from one to three months and then it’s a big rush at the end to try and get everything done.”
Bates said that behind the magic that happens onstage is a lot of hard work and problem-solving concerning the many moving parts of a production.
“All of a sudden you’re starting fresh, you have a whole new project with all new sets and all new techniques. There’s constant change challenging your brain to never be stuck in a stagnant pattern,” she said.
“I’ve really enjoyed just learning the city. It’s a true statement that ‘If you can make it here you can make it anywhere,’ because this is such a tricky place to figure out, especially coming from somewhere like Anderson where you can hop in your car and go pretty much anywhere. It is tricky to no longer have a car and learn to rely on public transportation—traveling by subway, bus and train—which makes little things like grocery shopping difficult because you can only buy as much as you can carry 20 blocks home. Most of my free time has been spent learning the city and even the block that I live on. It’s so vast. There’s so much to do. There’s great coffee shops and restaurants on every single block and corner and so it’s been incredibly fun exploring the city.”
Bates enjoys the opportunities she’s had to express her creativity. From the time she was a teen, she’s been drawn into theatre and the arts.
“I was involved in community theatre when I was in high school,” she recalls. “I loved the people—I thought they were fun. I knew that this kind of artsy world was something I wanted to be a part of. I started out on stage acting, but I knew down the road… I didn’t want to make this a career move for me as far as acting and being on stage. I have always been artsy and creative, so once I discovered there was a whole job field behind the scenes creating what happens on stage, I fell in love with it.”
Bates became involved in community theatre and was determined to learn as much as she could—growing her portfolio and gaining valuable experience along the way.
Bates also got to know Anderson University when she became involved in the AU Repertory Theatre program for high school students. AU Rep continues to introduce high schoolers to the theatre.
“I just loved the environment and the people,” she said. “I lived on campus and was as involved as I could be. I worked on the student activities team. I worked in the theatre shop as a workstudy. I had a couple of other jobs on campus. I loved being involved.”
The best part of being part of AU’s Theatre and Dance Program for Bates was working behind the scenes in the theatre shop preparing for productions.
One of Bates’ favorite projects while at Anderson was working on the South Carolina School of the Arts production of the musical “Guys and Dolls.”
“It was my senior project. I got to be in charge of designing the show and painting and doing the organizing and delegation and drawings. From start to finish, I had my hands on the show the whole time… All of the students really helped the vision come to life. It was fun to do things that hadn’t been done on that stage before,” she said. “It was also great to work on community shows while I was at school because it gave me a very well-grounded education, because I was able to also talk to professors while I was at school, very real-world scenarios that were happening, and they were able to help me and give me advice while I was out working as well as in the educational setting.”
Of her experience from Anderson, Bates says, “I use it all of the time today and truly in this field, specifically, it is such a building block career and ongoing education, because each show requires new and different techniques and things to try and so I got to learn a lot of great basics and building blocks at Anderson that are great to refer back to as I’m still growing in each new job.”
She added, “My time at Anderson was truly made by the kind people and great professors like Dalton Cole, Jessica Johnson, Cara Wood, Dr. Sollish, Dr. Larson and so many others.”
Bates’ handiwork can be seen on her website and her Instagram feed, kat_bates_designs.