Schools

How Port Washington Helped Shape ABC Star Katie Lowes

Growing up, Lowes thrived in the local theater scene.

graduate is gracing the screen on ABC’s “Scandal,” when the drama premiers Thursday at 10 p.m.

Billed as "the behind-the-scenes machinations of a mesmerizing top crisis manager," the show is the brain-child of the creator and executive producers of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice." 

The show stars Kerry Washington, Henry Ian Cusick, among others

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Lowes plays Quinn Perkins, a young lawyer with a secret past and a steep learning curve. But don't be fooled by the hype. Lowes is still very much a Port Washington girl, and says her roots played a big role in who she is today. 

Like many current Port Washington “theater kids,” Lowes, who graduated high school in 2000, devoted herself to the local arts scene, and all of its opportunities.

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“I felt like Port Washington was so great,” she said. “I did so many plays, Shakespeare Day, musicals.”

That includes a role as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” back when Lowes was a fourth-grader at .

By the time Lowes was in high school, she was deeply involved in the chorus, studying with Philip Glover. There were 7:30 a.m. rehearsals, and often, after-school rehearsals that sometimes went until 8 p.m.

Somehow, Lowes, a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, always knew the performing arts was for her.

“I can’t remember when I wasn’t acting, singing or dancing,” she said.

And what better place to hone her skills than right here on the peninsula?

Fond memories include working with Mark Gamell, who co-advised Schreiber’s drama workshop, and Mardi Braun, who directed school musicals, and studying with David O’Connor.

During her time in Port, Lowes said she formed friendships she still continues today.

That includes Oscar winner . “We see each other at Sundance,” she said of the film festival. Laughing, she added, “I hope the show [“Scandal”] does well, and Ryan gives me a speaking part. Just to work with someone from Port would be the coolest thing ever.”

In many ways, performing theater in Port Washington has helped Lowes prepare for Hollywood.

“Funny enough, life in an acting or music career resembles school,” Lowes said. Elaborating, she noted that a freshman might not get a lead role initially, but does get the chance to start proving oneself.

For Lowes, that’s happened in her professional life. She pointed out that a director may cast an actor in a small part one time, a bigger role at another point, “until you're trusted to carry a lead.”

As an actor, she keeps looking forward, even in the face of rejection.

“I pick myself up every time someone says no,” she said. “I keep going.”

She may get 20 no’s from a director, she said, “but I know I did my best each time.”

She added, “Acting is just that. You keep going. You don’t know who you are going to meet. When doors open, you have your tools to hopefully show them.”

Lowes, whose grandmother still lives in Port, does travel to the East Coast from California, with her fiance, who is from Philadelphia. The couple plan to wed in June. Her parents relocated recently from Port Washington to Vermont, but her grandmother still lives in town, and an aunt and uncle live in Manhasset.

Said Lowes, "We come home seven, eight, nine times a year. I love Port Washington."


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