Unlike many of her fellow students, Caitlin Lawrence Papp (Stevenson ‘24, History) came to UC Santa Cruz with years of practical work experience. The actor and graduate student in the Department of Performance, Play and Design has worked across the state and built a career for herself.
While most of her friends in high school went off to college, Papp chose a different destiny, instead becoming a working actor, mostly for the stage. She is a lover of classical theater, Shakespeare in particular, and assistant directed the recent sold out production of The Comedy of Errors on campus. Beyond the Bard, Papp has been involved in productions including Sense and Sensibility (Pacific Repertory Theatre, 2024), Cabaret (City Lights Theater Company 2019), and The Three Musketeers (Silicon Valley Shakespeare, 2016) to name a few. She is also a board member of City Lights Theater Company in San Jose.
Along with acting, Papp took on several other roles to make money, including teaching. “You have to have all these hyphens to be an actor,” she says. “You’re an actor, you’re a director, you’re a teacher and that’s the nature of the gig.” On top of her work, Caitlin is also the mother of two, and has trouble turning down new opportunities when they come her way.
For many years she thought she didn’t need a college-level education for something she already had experience in, but Papp was pleasantly surprised when she came to UC Santa Cruz and discovered just how much she didn’t know. When COVID-19 hit and live productions shut down, Papp came to campus as an undergraduate student, minoring in theater. She describes thinking “ ‘What do I need of theater? I already know it.’ Then started getting into it and thought, ‘Oh no, there’s still room for me to learn and grow.’ ”
Now Papp has a deeper appreciation for the academic side of theater, and is continuing her pursuit of knowledge. Currently a Master’s student who is also on Dean Celine Parrenas Shimizu’s leadership board, she hopes to also receive her Ph.D. one day, and teach college students in the future (she currently teaches children and teens).
Her love for the classics is matched by her interest in women’s roles in theater. “I can’t think of another industry that has allowed women to shine and be even at the same level as their male counterparts,” says Papp. She focuses on the history of women in theater, particularly on the Restoration Period, when women were first allowed on stage.
With her two children (ages 13 and 17) considering going into theater themselves, and Papp constantly taking on more projects, she is busier than ever. No matter what else she has going on, Papp will always put a primary focus on her art. “The arts are going through a really rough period, theaters are closing, and it’s hard to watch. But at the same time, it feels like growth is happening,” she says. “People love musicals, people love to be entertained that way, I believe that people need that storytelling.”