Where Are They Now? CATHY STREET

In spring of 2016, Cathy and JJ Street pulled up roots in Nashville - a place they called home for 13 years - and moved eastward to Wilmington, North Carolina, leaving behind scores of friends who'd become like family to them and relinquishing the reins to Street Theatre Company to Jason Tucker, under whom the acclaimed theater company continues to thrive in Music City.

What have Cathy and JJ been up to since leaving Nashville? Recently we caught up with Cathy who filled us in on what's happened in their lives over the past year, how the theater scene in Wilmington compares to the one in the Volunteer State and how living so close to the beach has affected the beloved pair of artists who will always be a part of the close-knit, if slightly dysfunctional, Nashville theater family.

Today, Where Are They Now? gets the scoop from Cathy Street:

Tell me about your current life in Wilmington and what prompted you to make that move? Being from small towns in New England by the water, JJ and I always knew Nashville was not our ultimate landing place. In fact, when we moved to Nashville, we thought maybe we would stay a year or two, but then Street Theatre was born and we developed dear friends....so 13 years later...As far as leaving Nashville, we said we would just know when the time was right, and that time finally came. We were both ready for a new adventure.

How does the theater community there compare with the other communities you've experienced? Other than being smaller, it is very similar. There are a large amount of theatre groups and a small number of venues. I do find that theatre has a pretty good audience here-probably better than Nashville in general, as there are a lot of retirees from New York and New England here who want to go out for entertainment.

Do you find the atmosphere more or less open to new ideas and people? Very open to new people, I would say. I definitely have felt very welcomed. I don't see a ton of experimental or out-of-the-box work. Some of the companies do newer shows but only the pretty big named ones. There are one or two companies that support smaller and newer works. In fact, I will be directing Macabaret for one of those places this fall!

What brought you to the Nashville theater scene in the first place? Shortly after JJ and I got married, we knew we wanted to go somewhere warmer and a little bigger than where we were. We did a road trip and spent time in Asheville, Raleigh/Durham, Wilmington, and Nashville. Ironically, we liked Wilmington a lot but at the time if felt like a lateral move as it was very much like where we were from. Nashville had a great vibe and back then was much more of a "little big town." We just thought we would give it a shot!

How did your time here prepare you for where you are now in your career arc? Well, obviously having run a company and produced over 70 shows, I feel like I have accomplished enough to allow myself to slow down a little and be selective about where I put my energy. I think that is the big thing. I am proud of all the work that went into starting STC, and I certainly love sharing that experience and offering any insight that I might have. I also love not being "in charge" way more than I thought I would. I was nervous about that-but it has been completely freeing. I have a couple of other things maybe in the works here but again, I get to pick. When STC really hit its stride, there was a long time where I felt pretty overrun by the company; it was just always so busy. I do think I have gained a lot of insight that is useful to other organizations, including a non-profit called Chamber Music Wilmington for whom I work as their Operations Manager part-time. A lot of their challenges are challenges we faced at STC, so I have a lot to offer.

What's your most vivid memory of your time in Tennessee? Oh boy, that is impossible to answer. I have so many memories...Of course, some of my favorite STC productions are on that list. There were some shows that I would watch nearly every night because I just loved them so much - that was probably the proudest I was. Watching other people shine as directors, tech crew, actors, volunteers; and to know that I had a part of making that happen is pretty wonderful. But really, as I come up on a year from leaving, what I miss are the dear friends we made. That has been the one downside.

Who were some of the people in Nashville/Tennessee who had a lasting impact on you and/or your career? Oh, there are too many. I don't even want to list any because then I would feel bad leaving someone out! Let me just say, the person I was when I moved to Nashville and the person I was when I left are two incredibly different human beings. And none of that would ever have happened without the support and talents of everyone who worked with me and with STC.

What advice would you give to someone taking their first steps to becoming a part of the theater scene here? Since I just did the same thing here in Wilmington, I would say just network. Don't be afraid to reach out to people and introduce yourself, meet for coffee...most of the artists in the Nashville community are so open and welcoming-it would be an easy way to start getting known.

And what would you say to someone thinking about moving anywhere, really, in the way you and JJ did? Plan. We took probably close to a year to go from the decision to the reality. But the biggest thing is, in all honesty, don't be afraid and don't give yourself rules or limits. It was the same when we moved to Nashville as when we moved here-if we like it, great; if we don't, we will find something else. Nothing has to be permanent. Oh, and patience. The first few months were tough here to find work, and we had to do things we didn't love to in order to get by. It wasn't until probably six months in that we started finding more of our stride professionally. Of course, we could go to the beach every day and relax and that made the patience much easier.

Were you as prepared for the life-changing possibilities that you encountered as you thought you were before you moved? I don't think we can ever prepare for where life takes us. One thing leads to another and another...and things you never pictured suddenly become options. It is exciting to be open to possibilities. And a healthy dose of walking the beach after work sure can take away a lot of stressors. A year later, and every time we go sit at the beach and watch the waves while the sun goes down, we look at each other and say, "We live here."

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