Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Reese.
Hi Kristine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My husband and I are both Broadway actors that have spent the better part of our lives either living and working in NYC or, on the road, performing around the world.
In the spring of 2020, our industry shut down and we were left reeling, not only because everything we had worked for our entire lives had been ripped from us in the blink of an eye but also because we also recently had our first child. As the days ticked by and there was no conversation about returning to work, we decided we had to do something. So we packed our car with our little baby and our dog, a couple of suitcases, and drove to Atlanta.
We are still here.
My husband grew up in Marietta, and we had some roots. The year prior, I had played my dream role at a then up-and-coming regional theatre, City Springs Theatre Company, and had enjoyed the experience and community. Atlanta has always felt like a second home to me thanks to my husband’s amazing family, and the energy of the entire metro area has always aligned with me. My husband and I always talked about moving here one day for our “second career.”
I grew up in Minnesota – in a suburb of Minneapolis – but my family is originally from the Philadelphia area. The Midwestern suburb was a perfect place to grow up, but I often found myself feeling like a fish out of water, being from an East Coast family. I always knew I would end up..somewhere else. When I told my parents I wanted to go to college and study Musical Theatre, they, to their credit, because it’s probably not the thing most parents really *want* to hear their child say, said, “okay.” Like they knew, too. And so I started on out the epic journey that would be my career with absolutely no idea what I was doing.
My husband, Billy, and I met in college – like so many other couples – while attending the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music, where we both earned our degrees in Musical Theatre. This environment was foundational for me – it was rigorous and competitive but also required me to vulnerable, introspective and creative. It was a four years bootcamp of singing, acting, dancing and developing individuality and authenticity.
I have always said that my goal was to be a *working* actor. And I am proud to have fulfilled that goal. I have performed on Broadway, National Tours, Off-Broadway, regional theatre houses and in concert halls and arenas across the globe. But, in spite of all my success I have always found myself wanting *more*. Many working artists say this about their craft — why do we often feel so empty when we are creating so much when we are so busy when we are in the “spotlight” when we are “living the dream? Could I possibly be that ungrateful?
Everything changed after I had my son and then, “COVID” times, those long months that made us all re-think what we want from this life. I enjoyed being a working actor, but I wanted to be in charge of MY life rather than asking someone else to hire me based on a two-minute audition. And more than that, I wanted to MAKE something.
After we arrived in Atlanta, we set the intention for ourselves to find new lanes and spaces. And to say “yes.” What did we have to lose?
Our friends at City Springs asked us to be a part of a virtual education program, where I worked closely with several students on the vocal and acting for a recorded performance. It was deeply gratifying and inspiring. After over a year away from work due to my pregnancy and then the onset of COVID, I finally felt the artist in me waking up. While I had coached many students and professionals over the years both privately and in masterclass settings, something about this was different.
That fall, we returned to teaching, only this time in in-person learning, against all odds – while our business in New York was still completely shuttered – working with middle and high school students, training them to be musical theatre professionals. Yes, it was in-person and it was so very important that it was. The kids sang songs for us, danced, poured into their creative souls and they were so happy. They came to life. One day we went out in the parking lot and they sang “Seasons of Love” and I cried because after six months of being in our bedrooms on Zoom we were all together…..singing. Living our joy.
I knew I could never go back to before. I had to be a part of this energy.
Last winter Billy and I – once again, thanks to City Springs Theatre Company – launched their inaugural Pre Professional Company, a program aimed at intensely training middle and high school students for a career in the performing arts and beyond., with a triple threat approach to singing, acting and dancing. This program has grown immensely and I believe it to be the premiere training ground in the Atlanta Metro Area for future Broadway stars. We have put together three fully-staged performances with these kids in less than a year and I could not be more proud of them and of the runway City Springs has given us to create this program and train these kids.
Because we weren’t busy and inspired enough, Billy and I also made our professional directorial debut last spring with Mamma Mia! at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. It was one of Atlanta’s first fully staged musicals since the COVID shutdowns and it was a beautiful celebration of what theatre can bring to people and to the community.
We are still performing — we take terms working on shows around the area or back in “the city”- switching off so we can still care for our son and continue to pour ourselves into the education programming.
I also teach private voice and acting to dozens of students, both in-person and virtually. My approach is holistic – I believe that the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the artist must be addressed in order to promote change. Technique has been foundational to me throughout my career, and I credit my ability to bounce back and forth between belting out a showtune and singing a classical aria to 20-plus years of rigorous technical training. But after the past two years, I have discovered that the whole artist must be cared for if we want to help with the technique. My journey to this moment has given me the tools to care for these students in this specific way. It is extremely intense work at times, but it is as gratifying as opening night, particularly when I see them grow wings to fly without me.
I have started labeling myself an actress/singer/director/coach/educator and momtrepreneur. That may make it sound like I do none of those things really well – like a jack of all trades and a master of none – but the past two years have taught me that we truly can do it all, in addition to validating that this was our path. And I will keep saying yes with open arms and an open heart.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first there months of COVID were absolutely horrible for me. I just had had a baby in the fall of 2019 and had taken almost an entire year of work due to my pregnancy – it’s near impossible to be an ingenue in a musical if you are pregnant. It just doesn’t work. I was just getting back to auditioning when COVID shut down our business. I just saw everything I had worked for my ENTIRE life go up in a. puff of smoke.
It was the lowest I have ever felt. But I just knew that I couldn’t sit and wait anymore for my life to begin.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a performer, I have enjoyed a nice, steady career doing all sorts of projects. I don’t think I do “one” specific thing, but because I am well-trained, I can shift into different styles of shows or roles with varying vocal demands. At times it can be a curse — this business really wants to define you in a few adjectives and put you into simple, tidy boxes. But I started to have the most success when I realized who I authentically was and lead with an effusive, unaffected manner that allowed people to feel like they knew and related to me. I didn’t have to change myself for anyone, I just had to actually be myself. People always tell me I am easy to talk to and I realized I just brought that into my work, I would work more. Everyone wants to be around the person that is easy to talk to.
I find this has really helped me with my students as well. The high school students in particular are under an immense amount of stress and adversity. Social media, COVID, virtual school and then the normal demands and stresses of high school and applying for college have left them completely stressed, anxious and struggling to get through the day. I see them where they are at, allow them the space to talk through those things, try to give them tools to work through issues and decrease stress and ultimately, unburden themselves of them so they feel lighter and are more available to work. I am not trying to be their best friend – that’s not what their parents are paying me for – but I know if I don’t address this, they won’t be able to work on the *work*.
The results have been truly amazing. It’s also indicative of larger societal problems that I cannot solve. But maybe I can help one person at a time.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, we are just continuing to look at each day as it comes. Moment to moment. I am okay with it.
We are looking to buy a house here, though.
Pricing:
- College Consultations $100/Hr
- Private lessons $85/hr
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@kristinereese.com
- Website: www.kristinereese.com
- Instagram: @kristinereese
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristine.reese
- Other: kbtproductionsphotography.com
Image Credits
Mamma Mia and South Pacific – Ben Rose Photography Color headshot – The Emma Experience Black and white photo and photo with my son. – KBT PRODUCTIONS PHOTOGRAPHY Black and white photo with Billy – Courtney Cope Finding Neverland – Jeremy Daniel Photo
