Carrie Gorn, longtime public relations, communications, and marketing consultant, has died at 49
She pitched imaginative media and marketing campaigns to The Inquirer and other outlets that resulted in coverage for arts festivals, comedy theaters, dance organizations, and regional theaters.

Carrie Gorn, 49, of King of Prussia, longtime communications and marketing consultant, founder of Perpetual Motion public relations, theater enthusiast, award-winning former sports writer, and volunteer, died Wednesday, Jan. 29, of cardiac arrest at Bryn Mawr Hospital.
Known by family, friends, and colleagues as a “warm and kind spirit” and a “vivacious, tireless cheerleader for the theater arts in Philadelphia,” Mrs. Gorn founded her own one-person firm, Perpetual Motion PR, in 2007 and specialized in public relations and related services, mostly for her beloved arts and entertainment clients, for 17 years.
She pitched imaginative media and marketing campaigns to The Inquirer and other outlets that resulted in coverage for arts festivals, comedy theaters, dance organizations, and regional theaters. Her clients included Quintessence Theatre Group, Curio Theatre Company, EgoPo Classic Theater, Tribe of Fools, the Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and People’s Light.
She called herself a “PR professional, wife, mom” in her Instagram profile, and said on her website: “We work with your message and your mission to create campaigns that increase awareness, sell tickets, and put you in the forefront.” Her husband, Chad, said she could work with and relate to practically anybody. He nicknamed her the Mayor of the World.
“She talked to everybody,” he said.
He said she fell in love with the theater, from the backstage to the back row, while serving as in-house communications director for the Wilma Theater and Walnut Street Theatre from 2002 to 2005. “She was a fan,” he said.
“How do we open our doors, be welcoming, say come be in community, watch great stories unfold, be entertained, and keep coming back. Those are the random thoughts on my mind on a Sunday.”
She knew the stagehands and ticket takers as well as the actors and producers at many shows. She rooted for understudies, she saw Moulin Rouge! six times, and her all-time favorite obstructed-view seat was actually behind the cast in the wing.
She, her husband, and their daughter, Rosie, went to hundreds of shows in Philadelphia, New York, and elsewhere. Two of her favorite musicals were Parade and Titanic.
“Carrie loved theatre as much as anyone you’ll ever meet,” colleagues at the Arden Theatre Company said in a Facebook tribute. “And she brought that passion, along with her positive energy and fierce determination, to telling our stories.”
On Thursday, theaters across the region planned to recognize her career by dimming their lights for one minute at 7 p.m. “She was a fixture, always bubbling over with new ideas and kind words,” colleagues at Theatre Philadelphia said online.
“Her love of theater, music, and her tireless advocacy cannot be measured.”
Earlier, Mrs. Gorn was media relations and communications director for the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania and a freelancer at Glenside-based Canary Promotion & Design. She covered high school sports for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette and Pottstown Mercury right out of college, and was named the 1999 Media Person of the Year by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.
She taught classes on the press, promotion, and publicity for Drexel University, and volunteered at the Wolf Performing Arts Center. Her colleagues at Wolf said online: “The light she brought into any space was fierce and will be felt forever as her legacy lives on.”
Carrie Lyn Smith was born April 13, 1975, in Williamsport, Pa. She joined the Girls Scouts and Key Club as a girl, graduated from Williamsport Area High School in 1993, and earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at Lycoming College.
She worked a few smaller jobs before landing at the Wilma Theater on Broad Street.
She met Chad Gorn online in 1999, although she told everybody they met in a bookstore. They married in 2002, had a daughter, Rosie, and lived in Roxborough and then King of Prussia.
Mrs. Gorn disdained injustice and enjoyed soccer, tennis, Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, and peaceful walks through Longwood Gardens. “She loved beauty in nature,” her family said in a tribute.
She spent many weekend mornings at the dining room table making diamond art designs, and she and her daughter went to Target practically every day. “She was an extrovert and could be stubborn,” her daughter said.
Her husband said: “She was fiery, talkative, gregarious. She was extremely interested in other people.” A friend said online: “She was such a special person who made everyone she touched feel special.”
In addition to her husband and daughter, Mrs. Gorn is survived by two sisters and other relatives.
A celebration of her life is to be from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at Alleva Funeral Home, 1724 E. Lancaster Ave., Paoli, Pa. 19301.
Donations in her name may be made to the Wolf Performing Arts Center, 1240 Montrose Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.