Lyricist/Librettist Kate Rankine has a list saved on her phone of “golden moments”, or “little things during the day that people say or people do that show the beauty of human connection.” These could be as simple as someone holding the train doors open for someone else or picking something up for them. Whatever they may be, these little moments bring Rankine joy, and inspire her work as a writer and director. As she says, “Instead of zooming out and looking at the big picture and trying to cover everything, I like to just take one photo and zoom in and pick apart every single moment and explore it as much as I can.” For Rankine, sometimes the small things can have the biggest impact.
Rankine began writing songs as a teacher in Australia, putting together little pieces for her students. From there she discovered a real love and skill for songwriting. She carried this into her first full length piece– a political adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that she described as “a way for me to explore ways that we can connect with other people and that we can listen to other people without having those preconceived ideas about what the other person is going to be like”. This show, Revisited, had its first reading in March of 2022.
PC Jaxsen Wells
Rankine’s next full length piece, written with composer Evelio Sotolongo, was a musical entitled Pompeii. The show follows one Roman family through their final day before Mt. Vesuvius’s eruption. Said Rankine, “I wanted to write a story about normal everyday life but put it against something extraordinary.” Pompeii is such a story. Living at the base of a volcano, the residents of Pompeii were used to earthquakes so when the first one struck at dawn, most carried on with their day as if nothing was wrong. Little did they know this day would be their last.
The show asks questions such as ‘what makes life worth living’, and ‘is a life forgotten by history worth living?’ The answer lies in Rankine’s beloved golden moments– in the beauty and simplicity of human connection. Songs from this show have been featured at Joe’s Pub and the whole piece will have a 29-hour reading in March in partnership with NYU Grad Acting.
Rankine’s other current project, Blood is Thicker, written with collaborator Vaheed Talebian “explores family and specifically parenthood and what it looks like to recognize how you were parented and whether you want to break that cycle.” It follows a queer couple as they begin to discuss parenthood. The show was recently featured at Green Room 42 and as part of 54 Below’s show Heart and Music – Songs From Rising Queer Composers.
In addition to writing, Rankine brings her love of collaboration and community building to directing. She described originally being drawn to directing because she’s “one of those writers who always visualizes what’s going to happen onstage when [she’s] writing it down.” But she also loves working with other writers and helping bring their visions to life. As Rankine said, “Anything related to the arts has to be done with other people, it’s so important to include so many perspectives and talents in a project. I know that I can’t do everything myself and I want to learn from other people.” Her recent directing credits include The Giant Child by Taylor Wendell Lozano at FRIGID New York, ‘Til Next Time with The Village Playwrights One Act Play Festival, and several Breaking Sound showcases at pinkFROG Cafe.
Rankine’s work, including songs from both Pompeii and Blood is Thicker will also be featured on January 23rd 2025 as part of Breaking Sound New Musical Theatre Series at pinkFROG Cafe in Williamsburg.
This post was written by the author in their personal capacity.The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of The Theatre Times, their staff or collaborators.
This post was written by Morgan Skolnik.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.
