Actor and filmmaker Caitlin FitzGerald ’02, named Concord Academy’s 2024 Hall Fellow, spoke to students, faculty, and staff on April 19 in the Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel.
FitzGerald is known for her roles in the television series Masters of Sex, Sweetbitter, and Succession, among other performances. She also co-wrote and starred in the narrative feature Like the Water and directed two short films, The Girl with the Jacket and Mrs. Drake, for which she was awarded best director at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival and was nominated for best film at the NBCUniversal Short Cuts Festival. Caitlin was a boarding student at CA; she graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
“I am in the business of feelings,” FitzGerald said to CA. “Theater has been a place of refuge for me.” She recalled that when going to the audition for Tisch at NYU, a student there said to her, “‘Just remember that you are going into that room to do what you love.’” She talked about losing her best friend at 23; how working in restaurants in New York City informed her understanding of humanity; and how hard work and her persistent love of Shakespeare carried her through some challenging times.
“No one was the gatekeeper of my artistry but me,” she said. “When you are knocked down 10 times, you get up eleven,” she said. Watch for a fuller account of FitzGerald’s visit in the summer edition of the school magazine.
Over the past six decades, CA has awarded the Elizabeth Hall Fellowship to distinguished individuals. Each speaker exemplifies CA’s mission and values and brings perspective to students about the potential of their future paths.
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