She earned a B.A. in Theatre from the University of the South in 1995, and later earned both an A.M. and Ph.D. in Theatre History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kate’s most recent article, “The Yankee-mad Stage: Stage Yankees and Slavery in the 1820s,” was published in the New England Theatre Journal in November, 2011. Kate has also published “‘People Who Went to Ridicule Remained to Admire:’ Ira Aldridge, Stephen Price, and the 1828 Coburg Theatre Lawsuit.” in the 2007 book Querying Difference in Theatre History.