Sr. Kathleen Marie Engers, founder and executive producer of Pumpkin Theatre, passed away peacefully at Stella Maris on June 10, 2026, at the age of 101. She founded Pumpkin Theatre in 1967 as a project of the Drama Department of the former College of Notre Dame of Maryland. In 1982, the organization moved off-campus and received its non-profit status.
For almost 50 years, Pumpkin Theatre was dedicated to entertaining, educating, and engaging elementary school children aged 3-10 and their families through live professional productions of fantasy stories, musical plays, and fairy tales. The theatre also offered summer camps and after-school classes for children in creative dramatics and acting. At weekend performances, the children were encouraged to sit together on a carpeted area directly in front of the stage in order to better engage with the play’s characters.
Pumpkin Theatre operated out of several venues over the years in Baltimore City and County, including schools located in Roland Park, Towson, Pikesville, and finally Owings Mills. The theatre also reached a substantial number of Carroll County residents. Sr. Kathleen believed that children’s theatre should be enjoyable to all ages, not just the young, but also the young-at- heart. In her retirement, she remained an active member of the theatre’s Board of Directors.
