 Chris Cabot bids farewell to the role of director of King’s Academy theatricals. |
Chris Cabot, a Los Altos resident and co-founder of the Los Altos-based Peninsula Youth Theatre, is set to retire as drama director of The King’s Academy, a Christian college preparatory junior and senior high school in Sunnyvale. She will hand over the reins to her daughter, Katie Cabot, an alumna of The King’s Academy and Whitman College.
Chris has directed 40 plays and 13 full-scale musicals in her 13 years as the school’s drama director. Several of her students have gone on to professional acting careers.
“For Chris, it has always been about the kids,” said Linda Miller, whose daughter Julia has performed under Chris’ direction for five years. “No matter what, Chris has always done what she thought was best for her actors. This shows through in the way students come back, year after year, to tell her what an inspiration she has been to them and in the way they blossom under her direction.”
In the message section of the program for “Hello Dolly!” - the last play Chris directed - her students, both current and past, pay homage to her. Many of them thank her for being their friend, their inspiration, their critic and someone who “believes in them.” Parents thank her for helping their children live passionately and joyfully.
Lindsey Heaton (The King’s Academy class of 2002) acted under Chris’ direction from 1996 to 2002. Her credits include Widow Corny in “Oliver” and Chava in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“Mrs. Cabot is such an amazing and talented woman,” Heaton said. “She has the ability to take 70 students of different ages and social groups and turn them into a tight-knit company with a common goal. She has always shown a genuine concern for her students and is willing to be a shoulder to cry on. Mrs. Cabot directs, instructs, encourages and befriends.”
Chris looks forward to a busy retirement and has several projects already in mind for her newfound “free time.”
“The sadness I feel in retiring has been lessened by the fact my daughter, Katie Cabot, is succeeding me. I’m confident Katie will greatly enhance the department, moving it toward new heights,” she said.
