The SF Bay Area Theatre Blog

We're going to bring you tidbits about the various performers in Foothill's production of Annie Get Your Gun, and our inaugural "Meet the cast member" will turn the spotlight on Katie O'Bryon, our Dolly Tate...and a clown school alumna!

One of Katie's earliest theatrical memories is the same as one of mine: seeing the Nutcracker Ballet, but here...let's let her tell it:

The first show I ever saw was when I was 3 years old--my grandmother took me to see a production of the Nutcracker in San Jose. I loved it! (We still go every year).When I was old enough, I began taking dance lessons, and by the time I was in High School I became involved in theatre when I started performing for a local Shakespeare Festival. I've been performing ever since!

I'm lucky-- my day job is in the theatre. I work for Peninsula Youth Theatre in Mountain View as a choreographer, teacher, and director. During the school year, I also teach drama at the elemetary schools in the Saratoga School district.

So what about the clown school?

I went to clown school in Blue Lake, and then spent about 3 years touring as a performer for a number of companies. And I have an interesting Annie Get Your Gun-related story:

In 2000 I was working for a magician/illusionist in Philadelphia-- we toured all over the country in a van and a very LARGE truck. One time, when we were performing in New York, we made a wrong turn onto a parkway that did not allow large vehicles. We promptly got the truck stuck under a small overpass. I can remember singing "There's no Business Like Show Business" (AGYG's opening song) from the back of the van as we waited for a very angry New York cop to stop traffic and escort us off the road. For the rest of that tour, the song was our anthem whenever anything went wrong. :-)

Now, isn't there a story/joke about a truck that gets stuck trying to enter the Holland Tunnel, and it's a little kid who figures out that they should let some air out of the tires to lower the truck and get it out? Anyone? Bueller?

Anyway, perhaps that was Katie's truck!