Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Fried.
Hi Katherine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, I attended the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program where I received a rigorous submergence in different types of theatre and creative storytelling; we were encouraged in our training to cultivate a wholesome sense of personal artistry in addition to the classical actor training we received. In other words, both my schooling and my guts propelled me into an inquisitive relationship with art-making and artistry which I thoroughly enjoy exploring today.
After graduating, I traveled the regional theatre circuit and grew my roots in a couple of different artistic communities around the country where I now have the pleasure of practicing as a performer, musician composer, teacher, collaborator, and facilitator. I have no idea where my path will lead me, but at the moment, I am so pleased to be able to perform onstage in Minneapolis and on the East Coast and to compose music for theatre projects in addition to solo musical endeavors. I also have the privilege of being on the board of an eco-focused onsite theatre company that marries environmental education and social issues with theatre.
Cobbling together a few different jobs in the arts has proven to be delightful – I am often asked to step outside of my comfort zone and embrace an adventurous spirit – and I am full of thanks for the folks I get to work with, who unfailingly set their hearts on causes which aim to do and foster good in the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, sometimes and sometimes not. The road of artistry is also the road of life, so my path has held every hue of every color. I am continuously searching and learning, allowing curiosity to lead me toward different interests and new relationships. The pandemic and unexpected illness of a parent seemed to lead me closer to teaching and musical composition, and now that the industry is flowing more smoothly, I find myself tugged more toward performing.
My work takes me all over the place, and while elements of uprooting are exciting and enriching, it can be difficult at times to balance work with my needs for community and connection. I’ve worked carefully to identify certain values that help to guide my direction; I strive to move toward decisions and jobs that allow me to prioritize my values of community, art, and nature, and this little system seems to help me keep things more balanced in life.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an actor, a musician, and composer, and in my downtime, a writer of poetry. I don’t think that this sets me apart from others, but I infuse my craft with my mindfulness and spiritual practices. Music-making, for me, is a conversation with the world and with the deepest parts of myself – it’s a conversation with light and darkness.
I think I am particularly focused on nature, investigations of the female experience, and mental health in my creations, and my lived experience has fed this (my mother suffers from acute psychosis and I live with my own experience of mental illness). What do we do with what we are given? We look for the gift in it. We explore all of it.
We make with it. We must. Horror comes with beauty. Love comes with a loss. So I try to hold both – I try to hold all of it. I am not partial to one point of view. I will never be able to see with a lens of entirety, but I sure do try to be comfortable with messiness in my making.
What are your plans for the future?
My big plans for the future involve composition and performance with Ten Thousand Things Theater Company in Minneapolis; I will have the gift of spending six months next year serving a theatre company that I have admired for a very long time.
Additionally, I am very much looking forward to piecing together a small album of original music and collaborating with some fabulous and formidable musicians and friends in the coming year.
I am also looking forward to the prospect of facilitating a performance piece that will weave artists of various mediums into a curated gallery setting out West next summer. I am riding a great generative wave with a few collaborators and am happy to be throwing a slew of ideas at the wall.
We’ll see what sticks!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kata-fried.webnode.page/
- Instagram: @katafried
Image Credits
Ashley Smith – Wide Eyed Studios and Dan Norman
