Title:Rising star

In 2021, actor Kate Ginna (C’18) was tapped as the lead in the feature film Stargazer. Although she’d had plenty of theater experience, her credits included just one short film role.

From one perspective, Ginna was a natural for the part— she co-wrote the script with veteran playwright and screenwriter Rob Ackerman.

“But there was no discussion until pretty late about my playing the role. I think I benefited from how tight a turnaround we had because of the pandemic,” Ginna says. “With months of pre-production time, the producers might have pushed to have a big name attached.”

With the casting decision made, Ginna didn’t hesitate. “The last thing I worried about was whether I could do it,” she says. “When you’re jumping off a building, you’ve already leapt.”

Ginna portrays Grace Campbell, a graduate student determined to revive the story of astronomer Cecilia Payne, whose groundbreaking theory about the composition of stars was co-opted by her male mentor.

When Grace turns to a seasoned journalist named Spike Randall, played by Broadway and film actor Matt Bogart, she’s in danger of having her own light extinguished.

“Some people think Spike is so terrible that they lose respect for Grace,” Ginna says. “But if you’ve been a 20-year-old around someone with more power and legitimacy, it can be pretty intoxicating.”

With Stargazer now enjoying success on the film festival circuit, Ginna is continuing to write while pursuing acting roles.

She credits Georgetown for her “multihyphenate” career. “The theater professors took you seriously; there was no condescension. My brain fundamentally changed from having them as my teachers.”

For Ginna, acting in more avant-garde plays as an undergraduate—including the world premiere of Amanuensis, directed by Maya Roth, Georgetown’s Della Rosa Term Professor of Theatre—encouraged her to take risks. Stargazer, for example, includes “fast turns and weird things” revolving around a dancer played by Stefanie (Lei Nico) Palencia (C’15).

These plot twists have incurred some negative reviews along with accolades, which Ginna takes in stride. “I’d prefer there to be some level of controversy, rather than universal love,” she says.

Nevertheless, positive feedback can be especially meaningful. “After one screening, a woman stopped me and said, ‘I’m so grateful for this movie.’ She’d worked for a newspaper in the ’70s and really identified with the character of Grace, and the co-opting of her voice.

“That’s something you don’t forget. If one person loved the movie and felt seen by it, then it’s probably worth being made.”