Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy Dore.
Katy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After graduating from Stanford with a degree in American Studies, I felt like I had a couple of choices: learn to say, “would you like fries with that?” or teach school. I opted for teaching and landed a sweet job coaching volleyball and track and teaching U.S. History at a prep school on the Big Island of Hawaii. I loved the kids and the coaching and the island but the limitations of the approved curriculum were stifling for me and the students. I’ve worked a lot of jobs in between, but I finally found my calling a few years ago in screenwriting. Being able to share the untold, extraordinary stories of ordinary people brings me immense satisfaction.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Ha! Have you heard of bush-whacking? Meaning, there’s no road, no trail and you just set your sights on a point on the horizon and start moving that direction. That’s what this journey has been like for me. I truly learned from the ground up. No roadmap, no road. I started doing workshops, taking classes, and reading books. I auditioned for student films to get an education on set life, film vocabulary and some knowledge of who does what.
I started in this career later in life and that may be the biggest challenge of all. The film and television industry loves youthfulness—and not just in front of the camera. I’ve been told outright that my work won’t get read because I’m too old. It’s ridiculous if you think about it. First of all, age is something everyone is going to experience if they stay on this plane long enough. It’s hard not to respond with, “Do you plan on not having any more good ideas once YOU hit 50?” Secondly, I feel so much more capable now of telling a fully realized story with multi-dimensional characters and hearts after having gone through some stuff.
So…enough of my little rant. It hasn’t been a smooth road and I continue to hit some roadblocks. But, the truth is, I love storytelling and will continue to write, act, direct and make content.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an Actor, Screenwriter and Director. With writing, I gravitate to previously untold stories of fascinating people. I have a TV series about Mary Ellen Pleasant, an entrepreneur and civil rights activist in San Francisco in the 1850s. This incredible woman amassed a fortune worth 30 million dollars and was instrumental in getting some of California’s first Civil Rights legislation on the books. It turns out one of my heroes, Quincy Jones, has been interested in getting Mary Ellen’s story told for years and he liked my take on her story. I’m developing the series with Quincy Jones Productions, Goldmann Pictures and Flavor Unit and looking for the right platform for her story.
Another series I’m working on is called, “The Lost Pages.” It’s a children’s adventure series about four kids who time travel to learn the stories of people who don’t appear in history books. There’s a villain, of course, who tries to thwart their efforts so that history continues to reflect only stories whose characters look, believe and act like he does. It’s a lot of fun and I’m hoping it helps kids see that our country was built by a diverse group of individuals, not just the “founding father” archetype. I’ll be looking for a home for this project in the next few months.
I also have a feature script called “Piper” based loosely on some anecdotes my Aunt Dot shared from the time she was traveling with the Hormel All Girl Orchestra. It’s a coming-of-age story about a young woman in the late 1940s whose love for music and other women did not sit well with society. It’s full of colorful characters and music from the Big Band era and 40s Jazz.
I also direct and had the opportunity to work on a film called “Gift of Fear” (coming soon!). With a mainly Indigenous cast, the film tells the story of one Native teenager trying to find justice for her missing mother and girlfriend. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis is one that has been around since the Vikings and Christopher Columbus landed in the New World. Unfortunately, it’s still prevalent today and thousands of Native American and First Nations People in the U.S. and Canada are currently missing. I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute in this small way to creating awareness among non-Native communities.
I guess what all my favorite work has in common is that it tells stories that broaden our view of what heroes look like. I’d like my work to make the world a little bit better than it would have been without it. I really do believe that one person can make a difference and I want to do just that.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Work begets work so say “yes” as much as you can. And, be kind. The world has plenty of jerks already.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.katydore.com
- Instagram: @katy.dore
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katy.dore
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-dore-3687167/
- Twitter: @tweetkatydore
