We love meeting new volunteers and we are excited for you to get to know Kathleen Barney, aka Kathy, and welcome her to our TNP family.  Kathy portrays the role of Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit and says, “the best thing about community theatre is the friendship. I have made the best, lifelong (and I mean, lifelong!) friends from theatre.  They’re all diverse and we’re all a little wacky but they are my family here in Naples.”

Kathy comes to Naples from Wisconsin and first built a home here in 1992.  “My husband and I would come down infrequently because we both had our careers.  I was a regional manager and trainer for a national health care company and had two sons in their early teens and had to travel a lot.”  Because of the demanding travel schedule, she changed course.  “I left and opened up two full service salons and ran them for 23 years – I had 49 people working for me between the two locations. After September 11, I joined homeland security and worked for them as a community relations manager.  I did that for 7 years and then retired and moved down here permanently.”

Ever since childhood, Kathy has had an affinity for the arts.  “My parents worked with big bands when I was little and from the time I was 4 years old, they would dress me up like Shirley Temple, I would get on stage to sing and dance, and then eventually I would fall asleep in a booth! At age 5, I would produce, direct, and act for all my friends during the summer time.”

As an adult, she didn’t have time to keep up with her theatre passions as much as she would have liked.  “About 12 years ago, I started to get involved with theatre again – I performed with the Marco Players, The Studio Players, and TNP’s Reader’s Theatre.  I’m a ham and love being on stage but I really love immersing myself in my character.  The last play I did was Walter Cronkite is Dead with The Studio Players before my husband passed away a year and a half ago.”

Kathy and her husband Skip were married for 40 wonderful years before he passed away.  “My husband would go to a play every single night of the week if he could.  We came to shows at TNP for years before I finally got involved in volunteering. I’m really looking forward to working with the actors – they’re just so talented! Of course, I’m hoping to do justice to my role.  I’ve seen the movie (Blithe Spirit) with Rex Harrison.  One of the things that attracted me to it was that it’s based in the 40’s.  I could watch TCM 24 hours a day if I had the time – I’m an old soul.”

As Kathy’s husband was passionate about theatre, she thinks of him often throughout the rehearsal and performing process leading up to Blithe Spirit and how bitter sweet this first production without him will be. “He waited for me every night after rehearsals and shows and would ask, ‘How was it? How did you do? How was the audience?’ He was so funny – my friends would call when I wasn’t home and loved talking to him.  He would joke with them that he was ‘taking their orders for t-shirts and mugs’ for my fan club.”  

Reflecting on her time with Skip, Kathy adds, “I would occasionally say to my husband – I think I’m going to put down that I want to act with The Naples Players in Blackburn Hall for a full play! And he would say, ‘you will, I’m telling you, you will.’  I’m so grateful that they chose me to be in Blithe Spirit with these amazing actors and I am hoping that he is up there looking down upon me with one more chance to say ‘I told you so!’”

All of us at The Naples Players are here to guide and support our volunteers through their experience on and offstage.  We cannot wait to see Kathy shine as Madame Arcati as she continues her journey as part of our TNP family.