INPERSON
Hometown Triple Threat
Peters Township High School alum Katie Terza acts , sings and dances her way through a Broadway career .
BY NICOLE TAFE
Twenty-five minutes before curtain of Broadway ’ s “ On the Town ,” Katie Terza ’ s phone rang . “ We need you to go on tonight ,” said the show ’ s dance captain Chip Abbott as he proceeded to talk through the order of the show . Terza grabbed her things and ran out the door . Cast as a swing , Terza was on call to go on stage at any moment to replace any of the eight female ensemble roles in the show .
When she reached the theater , she hustled into wig prep and began putting on her makeup as people bustled around her with costumes and information on the several quick changes she ’ d need to make throughout the show . With choreographer Josh Bergasse in the audience , Terza put herself together just in time for Abbott to walk her onto the stage . “ It ’ s your Broadway debut ! How is it that you ’ re so calm ?” he said . “ It ’ s fight or flight , and right now , I have no choice !” said Terza as the curtain rose on the start of her Broadway career .
Terza , 29 , was born in Duquesne and , at age three , her family moved to Peters Township . They left the area for a brief time and moved to Chicago when Terza was nine , but returned to Peters Township in her eighth grade year .
Terza models her " Boxing Ring " costume from " On The Town ."
PHOTO BY TED ELY PHOTOGRAPHY
Terza attended Peters Township High School and graduated with the class of 2005 . “ My time at PTHS was busy to say the least !” says Terza , who was very involved in school as a cheerleader and member of the dance team , all while traveling downtown several nights a week to attend dance classes at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre .
Though extremely passionate about dance from a young age , after attending an American Ballet Theatre summer camp , Terza was not certain ballet was what she wanted to pursue . “ With ballet , you have to decide at a young age if it ’ s what you want to do as a career , and I wasn ’ t quite ready to make that decision ,” she says . And so , Terza decided to spend her sophomore
38 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Peters Township