I made the decision on April 7th, 2009. I was in town for spring vacation, borrowed my friend's car, and drove myself around, down to Santa Monica Pier. I wandered the promenade, walked down and sat on the sand listening to the waves come in. I’d been rolling the idea around in my mind all week; in fact, it was my secret mission for the trip. On the drive back to my friend's, I said it aloud: “I have to move to Los Angeles.”
As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a performer. I started in children’s theatre when I was 7 as the troll guard with one line in “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”. By the time I was 16 and too old for the program, I was rewriting and directing “Treasure Island.” My small town is blessed to have excellent performing arts support, so I grew up starring in plays and musicals at school and community theatre, performing in band and choir, and singing with my father and little brother as “The Bergeron Trio” in the annual Day of Music (actually a weekend-long celebration of music performance). I jumped into any chance to perform, feet first.
When it was time to pick out colleges, there was no question that I would be pursuing my BFA in acting. It didn't occur to me at the time to do anything else, and my parents were the amazing supportive types that never uttered the words “get a real job.” In fact, even if I was grounded from every other activity, I was always driven to play practice.
I feel fortunate that I’ve always known where my passion lies, even if I’m never quite sure the path I will follow. And now my path was taking me away from Chicago.
I’d lived in Chicago for 8 years. I went to college there, The Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt. I had an agent, sang with a great band (Chameleon World), had a new boyfriend, all of my friends were there. I’d built a great life performing, singing, and teaching acting. So when I made the decision, I cried for all I’d be leaving behind. I told my parents less than a week later, at Easter. I’m pretty close to my family geographically (I grew up in Michigan) as well as emotionally, so I have to say, they weren’t immediately thrilled. “It’s so far,” my Mom said. I tried to explain. “I know, but I have to go. If I want to really go after this dream, this is the next step. It’s where I have to be. I don’t want to wonder ‘what if.’”
I told people about the move slowly. I wasn’t planning to leave until fall; I wanted to enjoy one more summer in Chicago before I went. And because I have a flair for the dramatic, I decided to move right after my next birthday.
Fall arrived faster than I could believe. Finally everyone knew of my plans, but to complicate things, I’d really fallen for Joe, the drummer in Chameleon World. We had started dating just before my first LA scouting trip in April. Joe was completely supportive, one of the first people I let in on my little plan. I knew he had no interest in living in LA, though, so leaving him was going to be awful, and I dreaded it.
In September, I made another trip out to LA to find an apartment. I gave myself five days, and ended up needing them all. Once again I borrowed my friend’s car, but she was super busy and unavailable to help me hunt. I felt lost. I had no idea where to start looking. I wandered around cute neighborhoods looking at apartments that I couldn’t afford, responded to Craigslist listings finding buildings I didn’t dare live in alone. I was exhausted and discouraged.
On the fourth day, I responded to an ad for a studio in North Hollywood. (I have a very-part-time job lined up teaching acting at a theatre in the Noho Arts District, and decided that being close to work, even part time work, couldn’t hurt.) I went in hopeful. The place looked nice, a gated community with an onsite manager. I could live here! I filled out some initial paperwork and right before they were going to show me the apartment, they informed me they don’t take pets. I have a cat. Her name is Bella. She’s not negotiable.
I left near tears. Just before I got in the car, I glanced up to see a phone number on the building next door. Why not? I dialed and the manager let me in right away. Gated community, gated parking, pool, hot tub, onsite manager... She showed me the apartment... absolutely perfect! Huge closet, big bathroom with a wall-length mirror, an island between the kitchen and living space, private balcony overlooking the pool, and they allowed cats. I snatched it up immediately, just getting the paperwork approved before I caught my flight home.
On October 2nd, I performed my final solo piece in Chicago at a downtown monthly event called “Follow Spot”. In the monologue, I reflected on my time in Chicago. This final solo performance kicked off the beginning of all my “lasts”. In fact, my friend Jenn started a photo album on Facebook called “Kate's Last Stand”. It may have been the longest “last stand” ever! It was a very busy time. I was recording a vocal demo and closing out my classes at Second City. Chameleon World was rushing to finish our album, and performing the last show with me, which was being taped for a TV segment about us. All this doesn’t even take into account all the people I had to say goodbye to! On the 11th, I had a birthday/goodbye party. It was amazing to see so many of the people I love all together in one place. I am so lucky. The party was intended to be my big send-off, but since I wasn’t actually leaving for a few more days, I ended up saying goodbye to people again individually throughout the week. Let me tell you, saying goodbye over and over again, and the sadness that comes with it, is incredibly draining. By the end of the week, I was exhausted from crying. Thankful for all that I had in Chicago, but exhausted. It was time to begin the next chapter.
