Quite the Fashion-Savvy Character

2018 Theatre Alum Catia Ramos Discusses Inspiration and Her Plans for the Future

She knows more than anything that she wants to travel. As a 2018 graduate of URI’s Theatre program, Catia Ramos approaches the world with arms wide open, accepting any and all possibilities. She is unafraid of what will come, unlike so many others in the same place as she. All the same, after spending her whole life in Providence, Ramos made her journey down I-95 and Rhode Island Route 4 to URI with a different thought of how her life would pan out.

Ramos entered her freshman year with theatre at the back of her mind, having no intention of entering freshman year as an actress. Like so many others in her program, Theatre found her, as opposed to vice versa. “I was actually a Textile, Fashion Merchandising, and Design major when I came here,” Ramos states, “I was tossed up between the two [Theatre and TMD], but I knew the school offered both, which is why I chose URI”. After taking a few Theatre classes to test the waters, Ramos took the dive headfirst into the major, knowing full well the commitment it would be. It was a difficult choice, but, as she states, “I think a part of me always knew I’d end up in theatre because I always wanted to act”.

But, the transition was not easy at first. Ramos found herself in a classic fish-out-of-water tale, unsure of how this new world of theatre would accept the girl who arrived on passion alone. Soon enough, however, Ramos found herself immersed in a world of quirky characters, both on and off the pages of the scripts she read. “We quickly grew to be a family. Albeit a dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. I found people who gave me support and wanted nothing more than to see me grow, and that was amazing to have”. This steadfast community of friends would end up working to her advantage, providing her with many opportunities for employment after graduation.

Since her graduation in 2018 with a B.F.A. in Theatre, Ramos has many ideas in mind for what the future will hold. Because of her connection to the URI Theatre Department, Ramos has already worked with many theaters around Rhode Island, including Mixed Magic in Pawtucket and Epic in Cranston. Post graduation, she has found work at The Contemporary Theater in Wakefield and the Out Loud Theater in Providence, the latter of which is founded by recent URI alum Kira Hawkridge and provides employment to a large percentage of URI Theatre alumni. Though her resume is stacked enough as is, Ramos states that one of her biggest goals is to “eventually act in all the theaters Rhode Island has to offer”.

Nonetheless, that is not the end of Ramos’ plan. “As for the future, that’s always a complicated question,” she explains, “I have a lot of ideas in mind that all include traveling. For now, I plan on applying to an M.F.A. in Acting program by the end of 2018, and I’m staying busy by working in local theaters”. As for her previous major, Ramos states, “Fashion is always going to be a part of me, whether it is my career or not.”

Chase Hoffman (Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology Double Major, URI Class of 2021), interning as a College of Arts & Sciences Fellow in Summer 2018, wrote this story.