Eaton made her professional stage debut in 1998 as
Titania in ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the
Guthrie Theater, directed by
Joe Dowling. She would go on to spend three seasons as a resident company member, appearing in
Oscar Wilde's
The Importance of Being Earnest,
Carlo Goldoni's
The Venetian Twins,
Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol, and
William Shakespeare's
Julius Caesar. In 2000 Eaton reprised her role in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' for a Guthrie Theater National Tour. That same year she appeared as Adriana in
William Shakespeare's
The Comedy of Errors at the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival. The following year she appeared as Frances in Vincent Sessa's ''A Child's Guide to Innocence'' at New Jersey Repertory Theater, and Lily in Brian Delaney's
The Cobbler at the
Irish Classical Theatre in
Buffalo, NY. The latter performance earned her a
Katharine Cornell Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Visiting Artist at the 2005 Artie Awards, presented by
Buffalo Toronto Public Media. In 2006 Eaton appeared as Caroline in the American premiere of
Samuel Adamson's
Clocks and Whistles at Origin Theatre Company. The following year she returned to the
Irish Classical Theatre to star as Josie in
Eugene O'Neill's
A Moon for the Misbegotten. She would return to the
Irish Classical Theatre once more in 2009 to portray the titular role in
Henrik Ibsen's
Hedda Gabler. The following year she collaborated again with Irish playwright Brian Delaney, appearing in his play
The Bohemians at
Carnegie Hall. In 2011 she appeared as Allie in Bob Clyman's
The Exceptionals at
Merrimack Repertory Theatre; as Anna in Joseph Lauinger's
Michael Archangel at
Fulton Theatre; and as the titular role in
Sophocles'
Electra at the
Pittsburgh Public Theater. For her performance in the former she earned a Best Actress nomination at the 2012
IRNE Awards. The following year she portrayed Karen Weston in
Tracy Letts'
Pulitzer Prize winning
August: Osage County at
Fulton Theatre. Eaton made her
Broadway debut in 2013 in
Sharr White's
The Snow Geese at
Manhattan Theatre Club, understudying the roles of Elizabeth Gaesling and Clarissa Hohmann for
Mary Louise Parker and
Victoria Clark, respectively. Five years later, in 2018 she appeared May in the American premiere of
Ella Hickson's
Oil at the
Olney Theatre Center. For her turn she earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play at the 2019
Helen Hayes Awards. In addition to her work on stage, Eaton's film credits include
With or Without You (1998),
The Tempest (2001), and
Last Seen (2002). Her television credits include
All My Children,
Person of Interest, and
Switch. In 2018 she appeared in a four part
VR adaptation of
Sigmund Freud's
The Interpretation of Dreams. Part one debuted at the 2018
Tribeca Film Festival, while part four premiered at the
Vancouver Film Festival. The series was subsequently distributed by
Samsung.
Corsetless In 2005 Eaton relocated to her hometown of
Essex Junction, Vermont to help care for her injured mother. While at home, she got the idea for a one-woman stage play. The result was
Corsetless, which tells the story of Liv, a brilliant yet misunderstood woman struggling for her freedom within a psychiatric institution. Confined and isolated, Liv refuses to abandon her unique voice, speaking only in the words of
William Shakespeare, as she fiercely defends her sanity against the doctors determined to conceal her. The play was first presented in 2006 with a staged reading at
Lincoln Center Theatre, directed by
Austin Pendleton. It was subsequently produced in 2007 by the
Irish Classical Theatre in Buffalo, New York, directed by Derek Campbell.
Corsetless later played a sold-out
Carnegie Hall in 2008, accompanied by an original score from award-winning concert pianist, Elaine Kwon. Later that year the play had a ten venue national tour throughout
Ireland.
Corsetless would later be adapted for screen, resulting in Eaton's 2017 feature
The Sounding.
The Sounding In 2010 Eaton was approached by John Knowles about staging
Corsetless as an installation piece in the glassed-in storefront space of the
Roger Smith Hotel in
Midtown Manhattan. While hesitant at first, Eaton was subsequently convinced, and one year later the installation became a
cult hit, routinely drawing crowds large enough to create a public safety hazard. During this run of the play, Eaton recalled {{Blockquote
Corsetless was subsequently re-worked into a 2015 short film, which served as a
proof of concept for the 2017 feature length film. In 2018 the making of
The Sounding would become the subject of a branded mini-doc by
Stella Artois entitled “The Art of Living: Catherine Eaton,” which aired on
Hulu.
The Sounding premiered in competition at the 2017
Cinequest Film Festival, and went on to receive over two dozen awards and nominations on the festival circuit. The film was subsequently distributed by
Giant Pictures and
HBO Europe.
Directing After 2015, Eaton began to concentrate on writing and directing for film, television, and radio. In 2016, she was awarded a "Through Her Lens" Grant from the
Tribeca Film Institute /
Chanel for her pilot "On The Outs." In 2023 her pilot "Flawless: A Feminist Fairytale" was awarded Best TV Screenplay at the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Additionally, Eaton is a Statera Mentee under Showrunner
Kit Steinkellner, and an inaugural Avalon: Story Fellow. Since 2020 she has served as a writer and director for Next Chapter Podcasts, where she has directed seven fiction episodes and written/adapted 75+ episodes in collaboration with
Marcus Gardley,
Jeff Whitty, and others. ==Personal life==