Issue No. 2: Upcoming Plans
Welcome to the Corner!
Welcome to the second edition of our monthly newsletter! The CATA Corner is our cozy, virtual green room — a shared space where our community can gather, catch up, and chat about everything happening in our theatrical home. This month, we’re excited to share our Action Plan for the 2026-2027 term and announce our first theatrical performance, Villains Anonymous, coming in May or June 2027. Grab a warm drink, settle into your favorite spot, and let’s talk theatre.
Thank you for being a vital part of our story. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
The Main Act
Our Goals and Action Plan: Exciting Things Are Happening at CATA in 2026-2027!
By Alecia Ramsey
We have many fun, exciting plans that are becoming reality. To start, we’ll reach out to the câmara of Coimbra to introduce ourselves and talk about our mission, making theatre accessible to people with disabilities, and the vision we have to redefine the theatrical experience in Coimbra through radical inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic innovation — empowering all of our Stars, both onstage and offstage, to be seen.
Collaborating with the câmara will open many doors for us. They might suggest available city-owned venues we could use, tell us the necessary permits we need, and hopefully guide us to grants we can apply for.
Action Plan One – Open House
Once we have a venue, CATA will advertise and hold our first Open House to demonstrate who we are and what we do. We’ll spend several minutes describing the benefits of joining us to our future Stars, answering any questions they may have, and playing a few theatre games. We want to get people excited about becoming one of our Stars, learning about theatre, and having fun while rehearsing for our first production in May or June.
The Open House will last for two hours. For the first 20 minutes, people will sign in, mingle, and get comfortable with the space. The next 20 minutes will be for our welcome circle and discussion, emphasizing safety and our processes for handling various situations. We’ll spend the next 30 minutes playing a few low-pressure theatre games, such as the Mirror Game, Pass the Rhythm, and Emotion Statues.
Following the games, everyone will use the next 20 minutes to explore the two stations we’ll have set up. The first station, “Onstage,” will have various props to explore, space for a short “ribbon dance,” and an area to practice bowing for the audience. The other station, “Offstage,” will showcase work done behind the scenes, such as set design and construction, costumes, hair and makeup, and the stage manager’s checklist. Finally, we’ll have a wrap-up closing circle, answer any final questions, and discuss membership, workshops, and our upcoming production.
Action Plan Two – Workshops
After the Open House, when enough people sign up, we’ll begin our weekly workshops. Each will be 90 minutes, with the first 15 minutes for our Stars to adjust to the room and have a welcome circle. The next 45 minutes will include low-stimulus physical theatre games to build trust and teamwork. During the final 30 minutes, our Stars will learn about various roles in a production. Those who auditioned for on-stage parts in our end-of-term production will rehearse as they learn stagecraft, and those who chose to work backstage will learn and practice the various roles that are the backbone of theatre.
We will offer three tiers of tuition. The first tier is the standard monthly tuition: €40. The second tier is our generous caregiver discount: €0. That’s right – if a caregiver or sibling acts in a supporting role for a Star, they will also be a Star, and their participation is 100% FREE. For the third tier, our scholarship tier, tuition will be very affordable: €20; that’s a 50% discount. CATA will set aside two scholarship slots per cycle for low-income families or individuals on government disability, first-come, first-served.
Our Big Announcement
After careful consideration by several of our officers, we have chosen the play for our end-of-cycle production in May or June 2027. Drumroll, please….
VILLAINS ANONYMOUS
By Jeremy Desmon
Being a villain isn’t easy. Just ask the Evil Queen, the Big Bad Wolf, Captain Hook, Cinderella’s Stepsisters, the Witch from Hansel and Gretel, and Prince Charming—yes, Prince Charming. When this motley crew of fairy-tale troublemakers is ordered to attend Villains Anonymous, court-appointed therapist Dr. Grace Goodheart has one job: rehabilitate them. Unfortunately, her patients have absolutely no interest in changing. Through apology letters, empathy exercises, vision boards, and some very unwelcome surprise guests, Dr. Goodheart desperately tries to get even one villain to admit they might have done something wrong.
But when Snow White, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Peter Pan, and a host of other familiar faces show up to confront their supposed tormentors, the line between hero and villain starts to get hilariously blurry. Maybe the Big Bad Wolf has been misunderstood. Maybe Captain Hook has a legitimate point about Peter Pan. And maybe Prince Charming isn’t quite as charming as everyone remembers. Packed with rapid-fire jokes, outrageous twists on classic characters, and plenty of opportunities for physical comedy, Villains Anonymous is a fast-paced ensemble comedy about reputation, redemption, and discovering that sometimes the people who understand you best are the ones sitting beside you in group therapy.
Duration: 40 Min
Showtime
Here is a look at what is on the horizon for our CATA community. Mark your calendars!
- October 13: CATA cafe chat, 2 pm, Café Samambaia, Praça Infante Dom Henrique C. If you’re curious about CATA, or just want to hang out with like-minded theatre-lovers, stop by and join the conversation. We hope to make the CATA cafe chat a regular event.
- October 18: Board of Directors monthly meeting, 2 pm, R. Padre Manuel da Nóbrega, No. 47, 2º dto
Note: As our community expands, this section will become your go-to guide for upcoming workshops, rehearsal schedules, and production dates!
Center Stage
Alecia Ramsey
Role at CATA:
Co-founder, President, Board of Directors
I’ve already worn so many hats/have done so many various jobs for CATA from concept to creation, and I’m not done yet. CATA is like my “baby,” and a baby needs a village to help it grow. Now that CATA has been “born” and opened its doors to the public, my job is to help build that village to nurture and guide it as it grows into what I know it will be: a successful, inclusive, and innovative theatrical experience to be enjoyed by everyone.
Member Spotlight: Alecia Ramsey
CATA: What experience do you have in theatre?
Alecia: In high school, I became a “techie,” someone who works behind the scenes to help the productions come alive. I helped build and paint the sets for the three plays my school did while I was there (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Harvey, and Guys and Dolls). I was much better at painting the sets than building them. Of all the techies, the theatre teacher chose me – ME! – to be the lucky one to use the fairly new technology of the time and record the plays on VHS videotape. After high school, I acted in a couple of short plays we had at church and saw two or three Broadway productions over the years, but I haven’t actively worked in theatre for more than 40 years.
CATA: Wow, it’s been a while since you were involved with theatre. How did you get involved with CATA?
Alecia: When I first met Melinda Dunn in April 2025, she told me about being involved in an adaptive theatre program in Southern California for a couple of years. I had no idea adaptive theatre existed. The more I learned from Melinda, the more I knew my daughter would benefit from a program like that. Unfortunately, Melinda couldn’t find an adaptive theatre program anywhere near Coimbra.
I thought that was too bad. My daughter, Kellie, would have done well working behind the scenes with makeup and costumes. She has been interested in cosplay for a few years now and has created some impressive characters with makeup and costumes. Well, I couldn’t stand the thought of her not having an outlet for her creativity, so I blurted out, “Let’s make our own adaptive theatre program here,” to Melinda, without thinking about what that would involve. How hard could it be to get a few people together and put on a play?
Ha ha ha ha ha! I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Now I know. Would I do it again? Maybe, if I had more people to help. Remember, it takes a village. So who wants to be part of the village?
Encore
Did you know that the first Shakespearean actors were all guys? It’s true! Sometimes, boys as young as 12 were cast to play female roles. They wore female-shaped costumes and modified their voices and mannerisms to act more feminine. If done correctly (and it often was), the boy would make a convincing Juliet, Ophelia, Lady Mackers, etc. In 1601, a boy was lauded for his acting as Viola from Twelfth Night, with people saying he had “grace and truth.” So if you want to be onstage doing a role of a different gender, know that it will uphold the traditions of theatre!
Join the Conversation
Do you have a story for Center Stage, an idea for The Main Act, or some trivia for Encore? Reach out to us at info@cata-theatre.com or call/text us at +351 925 563 331.
See you next month at The CATA Corner!