Meet Caitlin Hart | Artistic Director, Theatre Director & Intimacy Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caitlin Hart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caitlin, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
I’ve tried to give up many times. The theatre will haunt you if it’s in your blood. Having said that, there’s still time to burn it all down.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am the founder and Artistic Director of The Vagrancy, a Los Angeles based theatre company. We are a not-for-profit ensemble of artists committed to new, lesser-known and classical productions with ‘duende’ and the development of new works told by historically marginalized voices. We aim to provide equitable access to professional theatre and offer “pay-what-you-want” admission to all our programming.

A company founded and led by women, trans and nonbinary artists, we hire with primary attention to artists who are women, nonbinary, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and individuals with disabilities, hoping to reach similarly diverse audiences by doing so. In addition, we commit especially to hiring directors who are women, non-binary, and/or of the trans lived experience.

I love our new play development program, BLOSSOMING, currently in its 12th year in L.A. A lot of beautiful, original work has been commissioned over the years and I’m proud that we’ve been able to keep it going through high’s and low’s. We managed to pivot pretty seamlessly to an on-line platform during the pandemic when the series was only weeks away from performing. When we started the program we were rehearsing in apartments with an all volunteer team. Now, thanks to a couple grants and growth within the company we are able to pay (albeit minimally) all participating artists.

It’s certainly not easy running a grass-roots theatre company. I’m a volunteer Artistic Director and I’ve put in countless hours and built it from the ground up, so I wouldn’t say it’s been easy. It’s so hard to earn money. Most grants are matching which means you have to have the funds to get the funds. They also will only award a small percentage of your overall operating budget. So, when that’s small – the amount of money you can be awarded is even smaller.

I’ve learned that the work ethic it takes to produce quality theatre is exhausting – especially with limited funds. I worked for years at a level of commitment that wasn’t sustainable forever. In the past 4 years I have given birth to two children and moved to Michigan (where I’m originally from) and still helm The Vagrancy remotely. The theatre landscape in America has changed since the pandemic, George Floyd’s murder and ‘We See You, White, American Theater’. We are reassessing priorities, burn-out, self-care, power dynamics, systemic racism, our responsibility as storytellers, etc. I’m interested to see where we settle over the next decade. It feels like it all hangs in the balance.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A bestie week-long trip?! So fun! Ok, so coffee daily at Cafecito Organico. We would need to go to Crossroads Kitchen a million times because it’s the best vegan food ever. Speranza in Silver Lake is also a must when in La-la. We’d get some vegan sushi at Shojin in Little Tokyo.

We’d have to see a show at REDCAT and check out any good stand-up comedians playing that week. We’d see a play at The Vagrancy, The Echo Theatre Company, Theatre of NOTE, The Theatre @ Boston Court or The Mark Taper Forum. If it’s summer, we’d see some Independent Shakespeare Co.

We’d catch a movie at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Loz Feliz Theatre or The Vista. We’d also hike at Griffith Park or Runyon so we could feel super LA, or maybe some hot yoga. But the last time I took my bestie to hot yoga he threw up…so maybe not that.

Daytime at LACMA, MOCA, Getty Center and The Huntington Library.

Nighttime at Akbar, Cha Cha Lounge, The Short Stop, The Bigfoot, Hyperion Public, Edendale, maybe the Abbey for some dancing.

I’d also hit up one of my friends with a pool for at least one day of lounging poolside. Ah, this sounds fun. It’s snowing right now in Michigan.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Steve Madar, Alia Wilson, Sabina Ptasznik, Rani O’Brien, Cort Brinkerhoff, Katherine Vondy, Karina Wolfe, Michal Sinnott, Arthur Keng, Danielle Gonzales, Miranda Stewart. There are too many people to list.

Website: thevagrancy.com; caitlinhartdirector.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_vagrancy/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinhartdirector/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevagrancytheatre/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVagrancyTheatreCo