FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 11, 2025
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Spencertown Academy Presents “For the Love of Me” Staged Reading of New Play by Kate McLeod December 6
Spencertown, New York–Spencertown Academy presents “For the Love of Me” staged reading of a new play by Kate McLeod on Saturday, December 6 at 7:00pm. This tale, set at Olana in the late 1800s, weaves stories of the Frederic Church family with two Irish immigrants who join their household. General admission tickets ($20 public, $15 Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org.
“Kate has been a member of the Spencertown Academy community for nearly three decades,” says Academy Administrator Eve Zatt. “We are thrilled to present her original play on our stage. Its intriguing local subject will be of special interest to our audience.”
“For the Love of Me” is set in 1886. A young woman packs her few belongings and her determination into a shabby bag, boards a coffin ship in Dublin landing in the rat-infested streets of New York City. After a year with the rats, she finds work on her knees scrubbing floors in the household of the famous artist, Frederic Church—Olana—in the Hudson Valley. At Olana, life changes for Emilia. She begins to understand her desires and her gifts through the connection with the Churches and others. Her dreams expand. But with the changes, come unexpected challenges.
A young man, who has made the same journey tends the barn animals. His conversations with the horses give him an idea: write a book—“Parables From the Barn.” A Catholic priest, intent on saving souls, pays particular attention to the Irish servants residing in Protestant households. The Church is a weapon against faithlessness and he is the savior—a maniacal one obsessed with Emilia. What happens when these three souls cross paths? What happens to the dreams and deep-seated beliefs when confronted with the realities of class, ambition, and vulnerable human drive
Kate McLeod is a playwright, lyricist, librettist, author, and former journalist. Most of her 20 plays have received productions and readings throughout the northeast, in London, and Alaska at Edward Albee’s Last Frontier Theatre Conference. Recent recognition for her work includes being a finalist at The Secret Theatre’s One Act Festival and receiving Best Storyteller at United Solo in 2022 for her solo play, “By the Light.” Her play, “For the Love of Me” received readings at Julia’s Reading Room and American Irish Historical Society. McLeod was commissioned to write a play for the anniversary of the Lincoln Funeral Train. She conceived and produced The First and Possibly Only Bacon Theatre Festival in NYC in 2013. She is lyricist, book writer, and conceiver of a musical titled “I Heart My Car, The Musical,” which she is developing with composer Megan Cavallari.
McLeod is a member of the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, The League of Professional Theatre Women, where she serves on the membership committee, and The Dramatists Guild. She is indebted to Arthur Giron, Mac Wellman, Jeffrey Sweet, Austin Pendleton, and many other teachers and received an MFA from Catholic University.
Founded in 1972, Spencertown Academy Arts Center is a cultural center and community resource serving Columbia County, the Berkshires, and the Capital region. Housed in a landmark 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, New York. For more information, please contact info@spencertownacademy.org.