Bringing over thirty years experience in theatre and arts administration to the table, Katie Schmidt Feder is thrilled to have an opportunity to create a place where she can share her vision for musical theatre and hospitality and help others create, share, and gather to experience theatre and delicious food.  Katie has performed, directed, choreographed, and designed in regional theatre, off-Broadway and touring productions.  She holds a Bachelor of the Arts in Musical Theatre and Dance from the University of Colorado and a Masters of the Arts in Arts Administration from Goucher College. She has also trained at Ensemble Studio Theatre, William Esper Studio and was selected to be part of the prestigious Lincoln Center Directors' Lab. With twenty-five years experience in corporate and arts management, and having served as the Co-founder and Executive Director of EMBARK Peekskill from 2011-2016 and the Executive Director of Garrison Art Center from 2016-2021, Katie feels confident handling the initial administrative and financial nuts and bolts of running this commercial endeavor. However, as it is her goal to shift her duties to focus on the artistic direction and stage performances, she is hard at work forming a team of administrative, theatre, and culinary professionals who embrace the vision and will bring valuable expertise to Theatre in the Wood.  It is a lifetime of imaginative and creative projects that motivates this new venture, inspired by the magic and wonder that we felt as kids, and the romance and mystery we felt as young adults, and the power of theatre to inspire and help us continue to evolve and find joy as we grow older.  

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The vision for our eventual space is a welcoming, cozy, historically-inspired venue nestled on a wooded property. The guests will enter into a lobby that has the feel of the entrance to a historical home. A charming pub with a fireplace and patio will provide a waiting area or post-show gathering.  Inquisitive guests will find a secret opening to the  “Cabinet of Curiosities” – a shop selling local artwork, small antiques, and quirky objects of all sorts.  Theatre and dining will take place in a post and beam colonial-style barn. Other facilities include a commercial kitchen, dressing rooms, second floor office, costume shop, and meeting room. Scenic shop and storage will either be onsite or jobbed off site.

 

A central location just off the Taconic or 684 will not only provide a more affordable, less-complicated journey for lower Hudson Valley theatregoers, but an opportunity for New Yorkers to get out of the City for a theatrical adventure in the country. The venue will also offer nights of comedy, improvisation, classic films, and live music, and will be available for wedding and special event rentals as well.

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