Finding New Rhythms At The Community Access to The Arts (CATA) Gala

Submitted by Chris Watford, CATA communications director.

Joy and community filled the hearts of attendees at this year’s Community Access to the Arts (CATA) Gala & Annual Performance. Sold-out crowds gathered at Shakespeare & Company on May 13 and 14 for a gala evening and matinee performance to celebrate and support the talents of artists with disabilities. The annual gala is CATA’s biggest fundraiser of the year, supporting year-round arts programs for more than 800 people with disabilities.

This year’s CATA gala, co-chaired by Mitch and Caitlin Nash, and Eva and Kip Sheridan, marked the first time since 2019 that a full cast of CATA artists took the stage for the organization’s beloved Annual Performance. “After three years of virtual and film performances, CATA artists were ecstatic to be back on stage sharing their talents for a live audience,” says Margaret Keller, CATA’s Executive Director. “Finding New Rhythms felt like an especially apt theme. For so many of us, the pandemic meant a disruption to the rhythms of our lives. Now, many of us are asking not just how do we 'get back' to those old routines, but how might we re-make them? Through the performance, CATA artists explored how art can help us find new rhythms — new ways of being and new ways of imagining our world.”

The performance, elegantly directed by CATA Program Director Kelly Galvin, featured all of the talented CATA performing groups that audiences have grown to love: dancers from The Moving Company and People’s Tap Dance Theater debuted new pieces, actors from Shakespeare’s Players delivered rousing scenes from Much Ado About Nothing, and The Juggling Connection shared a joyful juggling routine, The CATA Beat drummers brought down the house with a traditional song from Guinea, CATA’s stand-up comic Scott Thomas, a crowd favorite, left the crowd in tears of laughter, and The CATA Band led the audience in a soaring, sing-along finale.

After the show, guests were blown away by eye-popping decor in the party tent—including a whimsical and jaw-dropping installation of colorful wood sculptures designed by Mitch Nash, Joe Wheaton, Michael Rousseau, and Jacqui Gerro. A delectable dinner, catered by Mezze, and dance-inspired music from DJ BFG ended the evening on a high note.