Caitlin Muelder '96

While at Knox, Caitlin studied theatre and is a working actor, writer, and dialect coach. Some of her credits include: Hail Caesar! (written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen), Modern Family, 90210, Law & Order, The Invention of Love (Broadway), Engaged (off-Broadway), with regional and international appearances at the Old Globe Theatre, Edinburgh Theatre Festival, Lincoln Center, Fords' Theatre, UCB LA, Second City LA, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

When did you know you wanted to attend Knox as a student?

Knox was my first home—my father [Owen Muelder ’63] was a professor and both my parents were in residence, so I actually lived on the quad as a baby. We moved away when I was five years old, but on Flunk Day, my parents took us out of school every year. I had this outsider perspective from my childhood of what this institution was, and when I went for my first visit as a prospective student, I officially became a fully realized Knox student. That visit sealed the deal, and I instantly felt welcomed. There was an inclusivity that was immediate—I felt like I was finally among my people. So, I thought I knew Knox, and then I jumped into it, and it was a whole other world.

How has that experience affected your life?

One important thing I left Knox with was my ability to handle constructive criticism and rejection. In acting, lots of people have opinions about your work. It is great to understand that when directors give you notes, they are really trying to help you. Being able to "take a note" helps you distinguish between what things in your career you can control from what you cannot.

What were some of the productions you participated in during your time in the theatre department? What memories from theatre have stayed with you?

When I think of the Knox Theatre Department, the word “love” comes to mind. Before Knox, I began to cherry-pick my interests, so Knox was when I had an intellectual supernova, all sorts of branches of ideas shooting off in every direction, with love at the center. In terms of specific plays, everything with Liz Carlin Metz was so much fun. Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara—there isn’t a play that I don’t associate with amazing memories of growth.  One of my favorites was [written by] a student, Jenny Ward, had done an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and I was blown away by her work. It was the first time I had worked on something student-written, so it was my first time working directly with a writer in Studio Theatre. It was a big, transitional moment in my acting career of understanding technique and marrying that with a kind of organic intelligence. 

Is there something unique about Knox Theatre that also applies to the general Knox experience?

One of the things that’s affected me as both an artist and as a human being—true within the Theatre Department, but also true of all of Knox—is that there’s an encouragement to cross-pollinate. If you’re an actor, you’re also going to be working in the shop. If you’re a director, you’re also going to need to do some writing. There’s such an encouragement to find inspiration in lots of different areas, and see your particular subject from different perspectives that, I think, enhance you as an artist and also as a person. That’s probably the single biggest impact Knox had on me, and it’s affected my entire life: it’s being interested in trying to see something from lots of different angles, and taking disparate pieces of information and finding their connection. It’s the process of finding inspiration from things that maybe don’t seem, at first glance, like they would have anything to do with each other. 

What was your experience immediately after graduating from Knox?

When I was a junior, and had already decided to pursue acting as a career, I had a heart-to-heart with Liz and asked for some practical advice on where I could go after graduating. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school because I wanted a little more training in a program that had a professional theatre company attached to it, and I’d get an education from practical experience. That’s one of the reasons I chose to go to a liberal arts school like Knox in the first place instead of, say, auditioning for a conservatory: you’re going to get more hands-on experience and be able to draw from so many different sources. I wanted that for my undergrad, and then wanted something more focused in grad school. I ended up choosing to focus on classical theatre in the Old Globe MFA program in San Diego. 

What do you believe is your most notable achievement?

Receiving the Young Alumni Achievement Award. Being singled out by Knox as having accomplished something in my chosen field of work is a huge honor and is, quite frankly, very humbling. I was extremely surprised and flattered when the school called me. To be recognized among so many accomplished young alumni in such wide ranging fields is a tremendous boon.

Is there a particular experience from your life where your Knox education came in handy in an unexpected way?

Knox was critical for me in terms of marrying critical thought and creative thinking. I decided a little later in life that I was really interested in writing, not as a hobby or pastime, but as something I could do professionally. But I remember thinking when I got to LA, “I have all these new job opportunities, so I can’t drop everything and go straight to film school.” So I reverse-engineered my film school education. I went onto all these graduate writing programs, looked at their syllabi, and made one for myself of all the things they were reading and watching. Actually, I credit Knox with giving me the tools to investigate how best to learn with the resources I have. I lived and worked in New York right after grad school, but Los Angeles really felt more like home because it was more in line with my Knox energy: I was doing a balance of theatre and TV and film acting, but was also writing, and even started dialect coaching. In LA, you’re allowed to have a multitude of interests, and be seven different things at once. 

What’s some advice you’d give to a student considering applying to Knox?

Aside from marrying my husband, Knox is the best decision I made in my adult life. It has paid off in ways I never could have anticipated. It has given me a foundation for my self esteem, a foundation for intellectual pursuits, for how to build relationships and connect to others, for learning the rest of my life. I mean, the art of acting is to practice being human, and to practice empathy, which is obviously an invaluable skill. Knox is a safe space to take scary risks, and you will be served by it the rest of your life. If you don’t like to be too boxed in by labels, and you feel that you’re a multitude of things, Knox is the school for you.