JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

Kathleen Brannon Buttolph

JRT Artistic Director

Kathleen Buttolph has found her place, and it involves a stage, a script and loads of her passionate energy.

By Marianne Steffey
HER Magazine Writer
Story published: Winter 2007 HER Magazine
Johnson City Press

Center stage is where every actor longs to be, but for Kathleen Buttolph, the wings, the lighting booth and the director’s chair were all places that were just as important to her.

As the artistic director for the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre and a newlywed, her life is in constant motion and even she will tell you she rarely has time for herself.

But that’s OK, because when she talks about the theater it’s only moments before her eyes light up and her bubbly personality shines through even the hottest of spotlights.

It’s hard not to immediately catch a bit of enthusiasm from her constant energy spurts, but maybe her boundless energy and her love for the theater has kept her piling event upon event onto her to-do list.

Her love for the theater began when she was 14. She performed in musicals throughout high school, but didn’t do her first play until college. One day she decided the auditions being held at her alma mater, Emory & Henry, for a role in a play would be a perfect opportunity for her.

"It just happened," she said. "I went to make some friends and to have some fun and it’s morphed into this whole career for me."

Once the lights hit her and the audience applause died down, she knew theater was not only her passion, but her life. She began to immerse herself in the theater program and when her college career ended, she left the hills of Virginia with not one but two degrees — a bachelor’s in theater and a bachelor’s in history.

After graduation, she worked at Lees-Rae College in admissions and summer theater for nearly five years. The local girl then moved home to look for a job and it just so happened that an article in the newspaper gave her the chance she’d been looking for. The theater in Jonesborough was looking for professionals and volunteers who were interested in helping to keep open the theater.

"I let Brian Ponder know I was interested in some experience and directing and he said to me ‘I have two plays on my desk right now’ and I jumped at the opportunity," she said. "I had directed some plays on a small scale but never been the director/creator/marketing person of an entire production before."

In February 2004, she had her directorial debut with "Maggie’s Getting Married." She spent every hour she could at the theater painting the sets, rehearsing scenes and cleaning up a building that had fallen badly into disrepair.

"We really had two raccoons living there," she said with a laugh. "A lot of times, it was me and my dad and Joe Florence in there getting it ready."

In her eyes you can see the pride of knowing she helped make the theater what is it today.

"I was nervous at first because we were re-opening the theater," she said. "Then those seven actors, who were really godsends, walked through that door and I just knew everything was going to be OK."

It hasn’t all been easy going for Buttolph. To hear anyone in Jonesborough tell it, she’s helped build a reputation for the theater through her tireless efforts. Not only does the theater thrive on the nights a show is happening, but the local businesses also see a boost.

Now on her résumé, Buttolph can brag that she’s been in the director’s chair at least 20 times since those first two plays came her way.

But an intermission hasn’t happened for her just yet. Her mornings are spent answering e-mails, gathering and making publicity posters, checking for new shows, grabbing a prop or two from the nearby store and that’s all before noon. The rest of her day is spent at the theater with the classes of children, trying to pass on her love for the theater to a new generation.

Then it’s home for dinner, a kiss from her husband and back to the theater for rehearsals. As a matter of fact, although they knew each other in college, they didn’t start dating until he auditioned for a musical at JRT.

"When my husband and I got married in August he asked me if I could just slow down a bit," she says lowering her head. "I thought about telling him ‘uh, no,’ but he’s right. I’m spreading myself thin so I’m not directing anything until after December."

That may be a promise she intends to keep but coming from Buttolph, it may be hard to believe she can stay away from a place she loves so much.

"I’m really lucky. Not many jobs have so many ways for people to unleash their creativity on a daily basis," she said, adding that what makes it fun and interesting are the particular talents others bring to a production.

"When you see someone doing something they love to do, it just all comes together because they are releasing their creativity, and it’s so beautiful to see. And it may not even be on stage. It may be lighting or painting or singing."

You can ask Buttolph if she’ll ever slow down and you may get a simple "nope" with a giggle and a grin because where she belongs is center stage at Jonesborough Repertory Theatre and as humble as she is, even she knows it.

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com.