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.听
As a scenic painter, Bates works on the finishing touches that convey to the audience the mood of the play鈥攈appy, sad, suspenseful, whimsical鈥攊t runs the gamut. Bates explains that theatregoers see the handiwork of scenic painters鈥攅verything that鈥檚 on the walls, including paint, wallpaper and brick. Then there鈥檚 furniture and other props.听听
鈥淲hen 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 鈥楤ack to the Future鈥� and 鈥楾he Great Gatsby,鈥� which is on Broadway right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 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.鈥�听
Bates currently freelances design work for Tom Carol Scenery, with whom she鈥檚 worked since arriving in New York. She鈥檚 also a display artist and a carpenter at Anthropologie in New York鈥檚 Chelsea area, creating eye-popping window and in-store displays that fit the brand鈥檚 upscale reputation.听听
鈥淚 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,鈥� she said. 鈥淯sually you work on a project or a show anywhere from one to three months and then it鈥檚 a big rush at the end to try and get everything done.鈥�听
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.听
鈥淎ll of a sudden you鈥檙e starting fresh, you have a whole new project with all new sets and all new techniques. There鈥檚 constant change challenging your brain to never be stuck in a stagnant pattern,鈥� she said.听听
鈥淚鈥檝e really enjoyed just learning the city. It鈥檚 a true statement that 鈥業f you can make it here you can make it anywhere,鈥� 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鈥攖raveling by subway, bus and train鈥攚hich 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鈥檚 so vast. There鈥檚 so much to do. There鈥檚 great coffee shops and restaurants on every single block and corner and so it鈥檚 been incredibly fun exploring the city.鈥�听
Bates enjoys the opportunities she鈥檚 had to express her creativity. From the time she was a teen, she鈥檚 been drawn into theatre and the arts.听听
鈥淚 was involved in community theatre when I was in high school,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 loved the people鈥擨 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鈥� I didn鈥檛 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.鈥�听
Bates became involved in community theatre and was determined to learn as much as she could鈥攇rowing her portfolio and gaining valuable experience along the way.听
Bates also got to know 91福利社 when she became involved in the AU Repertory Theatre program for high school students. AU Rep continues to introduce high schoolers to the theatre.听
鈥淚 just loved the environment and the people,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 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.鈥�听
The best part of being part of AU鈥檚 Theatre and Dance Program for Bates was working behind the scenes in the theatre shop preparing for productions.听
One of Bates鈥� favorite projects while at Anderson was working on the South Carolina School of the Arts production of the musical 鈥淕uys and Dolls.鈥�听
鈥淚t 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鈥� All of the students really helped the vision come to life. It was fun to do things that hadn鈥檛 been done on that stage before,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t 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.鈥澨�听
Of her experience from Anderson, Bates says, 鈥淚 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鈥檓 still growing in each new job.鈥�听
She added, 鈥淢y 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.鈥�听
Bates鈥� handiwork can be seen on her and her Instagram feed, kat_bates_designs.听