Katcher’s Award-Winning Play Adapted Into Debut Novel
Newtown writer Kate Katcher is celebrating the release of her debut novel this month.
Originally an award-winning play Katcher adapted into a full-length novel, 36 was released on July 7.
The story follows matriarch Maxine Weiss as she manages her family, including her elderly mother and youngest disabled daughter. Meanwhile, eldest daughter Shellie is grappling with conflicting responsibilities toward her family and her own personal journey.
36 explores themes of obligation vs choice and destiny vs escape, through the lens of a loving yet dysfunctional family. The title is in reference to the Jewish legend of Lamed Vavnick, which is interwoven into the story as a character device exploring the inner workings of this family.
“The book is mostly about finding your own path when your perceived obligations are so strong,” Katcher recently told The Newtown Bee.
It took Katcher only a year and a half to transition the story from a play into a novel.
“The play has a backstory that's built into it, and suddenly I had the opportunity to tell the whole backstory,” she shared. “Then, as an actor in building characters, you go back and create a life. A life is all the anecdotes that make a person who they are.”
Katcher has been living in Newtown with her husband, Don Striano, since 1996. In addition to writing, Katcher has also performed on Broadway and is the artistic director of Stray Cats Theatre Company in Connecticut. She has also been a member of Flagpole Shakespeare Repertory Theatre, the ensemble of local actors who have performed radio style comedy sketches with Flagpole Radio Cafe since 2009.
She earned her BFA in Acting at Boston University and her MFA in Creative and Professional Writing, with a concentration in playwriting, from Western Connecticut State University, where she also taught in their theater department.
Her plays include Judith Keith, based on Berthold Brecht’s short play The Jewish Wife and currently under option; A Fox in the Henhouse, a 2022 FutureFest finalist, 2024 International Theatre Script Finalist, and selected as the 2027 season opener for TheatreWorks New Milford; and 36, winner of the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition.
Other work includes Scarsdale in Smith & Kraus’ Best Ten-Minute Plays 2021; “Bread” in Laughter is the Best Medicine; Blue Sky with Approaching Storm by ArtAge; Layover at Reagan National (Chain Theatre); and many others.
Short films available on YouTube and her website include Missus Dobbs, American (Rogue Theater Festival), A Nice Drive, and Planning Ahead.
Public Events
Readers will have the opportunity to view a staged reading of 36, the award-winning play that inspired the book, on Tuesday, August 11, at 7:30 pm, at Music Theatre of Connecticut/MTC in Norwalk. Tickets are $20 plus service and facility fees, and available at musictheatreofct.com/new-voices.
Katcher will be available to sign copies of 36 that evening. Copies of the book will be available for $20 each.
The following evening, Katcher will be at her hometown library for an Author Talk. She will be the featured guest at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street in Newtown, during a program planned for 7 pm Wednesday, August 12.
She will read excerpts from her debut novel, followed by a Q&A and another opportunity for guests to purchase 36 and have their copies signed. Books will again be $20 each.
Light refreshments will be served and the doors of the library's Gathering Room will open at 6:30. Reservations are available through chboothlibrary.org.
More information about Katcher and her work can be found at katekatcher.com. 36 is also available for purchase through her publisher's website (vineleavespress.com), Barnes & Noble, and Amazon for $17.99.
=====
Emily Braun is a journalism major at Fordham University interning with The Newtown Bee this summer. She can be contacted through editor@thebee.com.