An interview with a broadway and television makeup artist!


An interview with Christina Grant by Kateri Hartman.

There is more to Kate than photography. Once upon a time she was a professional stage manager, and met all of these cool people in the industry. As an intern for Kate, I've had the opportunity to interview people such as the makeup artist for Orange Is The New Black, an actor on Gotham, and an actress on Good Luck Charlie. Below is my interview with makeup artist, Christina Grant!


Where were you born and where did you grow up?
Born in Evanston, IL grew up in Chicago and Milwaukee

What is your favorite childhood memory?
Driving to Disneyworld from Chicago with my parents at Christmas time.

Do you still talk to your childhood friends?
Yes, Some friends from middle school and pretty much all of my friends from high school

How did you get into makeup artistry?
My parents work in the entertainment industry so I was always surrounded by the arts. I liked to draw and participated in theatre growing up so makeup kind of came easily to me. I had my first theatrical makeup class in high school and it was really fun. It wasn't until college that I decided I could make a career out of it.

Where did you go to school?
High school: Milwaukee High School of the Arts
 
College: University of Evansville
Grad: North Carolina School of the Arts

What is your favorite show that you've done?
Shrek: The Musical and Twelfth Night

What are your future aspirations?
I actually want to move away from the industry and open up an animal sanctuary/rescue.

What advice would you give your 18 year old self?
Stop worrying so much! 

What is your biggest accomplishment?
My daughter!

Can you tell us a little bit about what it's like working on Broadway?
It is fun but the schedule can be very draining. I work nights, weekends, and holidays - six days a week, one day off.  Now that I have a child this schedule doesn't work well with family life. What makes it better than film work is Bway is a fixed schedule - I know what time I am going home at the end of the night! When you are filming you have no idea when you will be done and you can work 18 or more hours a day.
Broadway is a very special community. We all know each other! I have worked on over a dozen Bway shows and work with a lot of old and new friends on most of them.
That being said, when you work on a long running show like Lion King it can get a little repetitive. That's why I take breaks and do something else for a while.

I saw you're on the set of orange is the new black, what's it like working on such a popular series?
It's great! We have a really great team. We have a lot of women running this show and I think that is rare in Hollywood. There is definitely a positive caring vibe on set. I forget how popular it is! When you are  working you are so engrossed in what you are doing and work such long hours that you forget that there is an outside world. Between work and my daughter, I barely have time to watch TV. I've only seen part of season one of Orange!

How did you meet Kate?
We were apartment-mates when we worked together at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado
Christina Grant

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