Kate Shier

The first role Kate (center) portrayed in high school theater was Old Wendy in the 2025 musical, “Peter Pan.”

On Nov. 13, FHC’s production of The Crucible will have its opening night, and junior Kate Shier will be showcased in this production. She was granted the part of Martha Corey and the ensemble. 

The Crucible is far from being her first show. Kate has been in the theater program for almost her whole school career, and even as a child, she participated in many productions. This passion for theater was largely inspired by her mother, who put her in theater as a child and also encouraged her to try out for last year’s spring musical, Peter Pan.

“My mom kind of influenced me to [join theater],” Kate said. “She knows that I love acting, and I love singing, and I love dancing. And I have been in theater for most of my life, but I was just really nervous to try out [for the musical]. But she kind of pushed me to be like ‘you’ll find friends,’ which I have, and ‘you’ll get really good at it.”’

What her mother did not know was that Kate would be glued to theater for the next 10 years. And throughout those 10 years, Kate has used theater as a creative outlet, throwing herself into the characters and discovering how to portray each role.

Theater has been the space for Kate to grow as an actor and grow creatively. However, that wasn’t the only thing Kate found in theater—she found a community.

“I really like the community [theater] brings,” Kate said. “It makes everyone in theater really close-knit, and all of the rehearsals and practices together allow theater to become one big family.

Having been in theater since the first grade, Kate has been in many productions. Across her many shows, she’s had a myriad of roles, and she’s enjoyed experiencing the different types of roles and finding the joy in them. FHC’s Peter Pan was a standout favorite for her, where Kate played a “warrior girl” ensemble member.

“I think ensembles are really fun,” Kate said. “Each ensemble group kind of becomes a family, and you don’t really have lines you need to be stressed about. All you really need to know is choreography and blocking. But spoken line roles are also really fun. You get to choose how you’re going to say or line or choose how you’re going to interact with others.”

Kate’s creativity and passion are not limited to theater. In her free time, she rides horses, frequently volunteers at her church, and creates art, especially loving drawing with graphite.

“I like drawing really realistic images,” Kate said. “I’m pretty good at copying down what I see and then making it look the same.”

Kate is also enjoying experimenting with all her different types of classes, from the course-heavy AP Environmental Science and AP World History to more expressive classes like Art. 

Even with her varying interests, Kate is still incredible. She plans to keep on with theater, even in college. She’s curious about the possibility of theater scholarships or minoring in theater, and if she’s not studying theater in college, she hopes to be able to continue it on the side. Since college is a few years away, Kate is also looking forward to FHC’s spring show.

“I’m really excited for our musical, Something Rotten,” Kate said. “I’m really just going to study the character I want and put my all into getting them. And even if I don’t get it, it’ll still be fun.”

Since she needed that push from her mother to join theater, Kate understands the nervousness that may come to theater newcomers. For her, when it comes to auditions, she recommends researching the character and studying their mannerisms. But, dedicated character research is not all that’s required for theater; showmanship and courage matter greatly as well.

“For auditions, just try not to be shy,” Kate said. “It’s easier said than done, but everyone’s there for the same reason, and no one’s going to judge you, so go all out at auditions.”