Natalie Battistone LIVES for the fall. The Marketing/Creative Director for local theater company The Spot considers October her favorite month and can be found celebrating it by visiting a good pumpkin patch (like Tubb’s Berry Farm in Twin Falls) or reading Dracula. An original member of The Spot since they opened in 2015, Natalie recently directed The Spot’s production of The Sound Inside and is involved behind the scenes or in-stage with most of the company’s production. She is also a freelance actor, acting coach, and director, working with theater scenes in various spots from directing commercials to helping her partner, Spot founder and Community School drama teacher, Kevin Wade, with school productions. Her and Kevin met at the Harvard Repertory Theater graduate MFA acting program in 2014; they live in west Ketchum with their rescue dog Ophelia (named for the character in Hamlet). When not involved in the theater, the introverted Natalie enjoys foraging, birdwatching, and writing poetry.

How does your ideal morning start in the fall?

Natalie: I wake up and go to the Konditorei for the coffee and its never-ending refills and the Konditorei Breakfast [two eggs, meat, toast]. They used to have donuts on Saturdays but they don’t anymore and that was fun.

What do you do after breakfast?

Natalie: Walk Ophelia at the dog park. We used to live on Aspen Drive and could just walk from the back of our apartment, it was great. I think that’s my favorite place in town, the dog park.

Where does mid-morning take you?

Natalie: I would go to my singing lesson with Ana, an amazing opera singer and coach. I found her in 2018. She’s amazing. Then I would go see Marissa at Bare for a facial.

What do you like to have for lunch?

Natalie: I would probably go get soup from Nourish Me and eat it in Lucy Loken Park. It’s so beautiful, it’s surrounded by trees planted specifically when the park was named Lucy Loken, a gardener that was taking care of a public space. After she passed away, they named the park after her and planted all these trees.

What do you like to do in the afternoon?

Natalie: I would walk with Ophelia (who’s usually with me all day) to Chapter One, which allows dogs inside to say hi to Cheryl [the owner] and get a book that goes into the stack of books at home that I still have to read. Then I’d head home to read in a reading chair by a window that I really love.

What do you like to do in the evening?

Natalie: In the evenings I’m usually at rehearsal. Afterward, the best part of the day is heading to Enoteca and getting their steamers/clams. Then head home and read!