She's a Vagabond Queen

Alumna Kate Peters Returns to Campus for One-Night Show

March 27, 2009

By Paula Selleck

The night Kate Peters attended a dinner marking the 25th anniversary of Orange County’s Pacific Symphony, which got its start at Cal State Fullerton, she had no idea that would lead to performing at her alma mater as part of the festivities to mark the naming of the Clayes Performing Arts Center.

That night in January 2004, this master of music graduate (Class of ’79) with a background in musical theater was seated next to Pamela Hillman, vice president for university advancement. They hit it off and eventually, Peters, co-founder of Narratus, a technology consulting practice, agreed to serve on the board of a community group being formed to help support the performing arts at the university.

Fast-forward to late 2008. Peters, now serving as vice president of fundraising for the MAMM Alliance, and fellow members of the board of directors were meeting to plan a fundraising dinner to coincide with the naming ceremony for the Clayes Center. For the evening’s entertainment, showcasing student talent was a given. What else to offer?

“If only we could find someone who could do a piece like I used to do,” she wished aloud, describing the one-woman-show she had performed for more than 10 years as a member of a California-based musical theater group The Metro Ensemble.

“The Vagabond Queen” — a one-act musical fable about female strength and generosity — was written in 1988 by composer/lyricist Edward Barnes, a fellow founding member of the ensemble, and underwritten with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Peters became a Eugene O’Neill Cabaret Fellow a decade later, and Barnes went on to win a Stephen Sondheim Award for “outstanding talent in creating innovative musical theater.”

“Why don’t you do it?” was the MAMM board’s consensus, particularly given the attractive no-cost aspect for the talent for this 20-minute show. Peters contacted Barnes, now working in New York, and an opening on his schedule cinched it.

“I’m really happy to be back in the footlights on stage because I love it,” said Peters, who has built a career as a voice coach, singing performing artist and author. Her solo album, “Sojourn,” was released in 2000, and her book, “Can You Hear Me Now?” was published in 2006. Currently working on “Hyperion, An Artist Falls From Grace,” she explores the life of “an artist in 21st-century corporate America.”

Peters is effusive in her comments about the Clayes Performing Arts Center. “It’s incredible,” she said. “I just can’t imagine how wonderful it would be to be a student and have these beautiful facilities to work with.”

Peters has fond memories of her student days: “I performed a lot and met some wonderful people who are still friends,” she said, recalling her mentor Suzanne Harmon, emeritus professor of music, and the late Roger Ardrey, “an amazing teacher.” As a graduate student, she performed in productions of “The Magic Flute” and “The Marriage of Figaro,” as well as numerous vocal recitals and opera scenes.

Saturday night, she will perform with Barnes in the center's Millie & Dale Hallberg Theatre. Though the March 28 dinner is the MAMM Alliance’s major fundraiser of the year, Peters noted, “We’re not finished with our fundraising yet.”