Pictured:
1. A View from the Bridge at Riverside Theatre (photo by Rob Merritt, 2017)
2. The Wolves at Cornell College (photo by Olivia Houchins McCollum, 2019)
3. Aurora at Theatre Cedar Rapids Underground New Play Festival (photo by Rob Merritt, 2019)
Hi there!
My name is Katy Hahn (she/her) and I am a professional theatre artist living in Iowa.
I make my home with my husband Bill, our children Jack and George, and our beautiful dog Sam in the small town of Atkins, just west of Cedar Rapids. My work takes me all over the state on a regular basis, and I’ve learned to love that commuter life!
Thanks for checking out my website. Before you leave, make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom to read about my “featured friend” of the moment. (It’s my favorite part of the site.)
In addition to working as an actor, director, and teacher, I offer a variety of coaching services on the side. Right now, due to me being a busy college professor (at two different institutions) who has one kid in sixth grade and the other in diapers, my availability is more limited than usual. Please check out my current guidelines and rates at the link below and get in touch if you are interested in talking more about what I can do for you!
MFA Acting
Florida Atlantic University
BA Theatre: Performance, Music
University of Northern Iowa
“I thought that all of the plays we read this semester had an important element to them and therefore, introduce students to new pieces of theatre that are not always represented, such as topics of race, sexuality, disabilities, etc. I believe all of the plays Katy chose to include this semester benefit student learning and prepare us for other classes and shows in our future."
“Professor Hahn, thank you very much. I was so nervous and worried about this class, but you taught me politely so I could enjoy. I was impressed that you taught me at times other than office hours. Thank you very much. I am glad that I could study with talented classmates and a great professor together.”
"Katy and Jenn both care a lot about this class and making it engaging and productive for the students. They have taken the time to individually get to know each student so as to help them grow in their emphasis. They also addressed all three areas of emphasis in the department. They had good connections with the students and challenged us while still helping us if we needed it."
"We talk about content a lot in class. We always know what is expected of us, and we go over the rules and guidelines for everything, which was really helpful especially when you haven't ever taken a class like this before. I think that Professor Hahn has an advantage because she has been in so many plays and musicals, and she really knows her content. I believe a class like this has students who are either 100% interested in it or not really at all. She did a very good job at making the class more than just lecture every day and got the 'not really at all' students more interested in it."
"Katy is very passionate and knowledgeable when it comes to directing. I was intimidated by this course before taking it, but she made this class thoroughly enjoyable. She did a wonderful job assisting the students and clearly genuinely cared about each student’s growth in this class. Katy had so many creative ideas and was always supportive and happy to help. She consistently provided opportunities to use our skills within the course itself, appealed to the entire class, made sure all concerns were addressed, and encouraged work to be applied outside of class. She was great at guiding us through the process, and I appreciated that she was very direct and easy to work with. A wonderful professor. "
"Good morning! I just wanted to say thank you. I love that you have Black Lives Matter in the end of all of your emails, I love that you normalize talking about privilege with race, sexuality, gender and everything else, I love that you try to incorporate EVERYONE into your lessons/ talk about things and people/ disabilities that aren’t talked about as much as they should be, etc. I KNEW I’d Love having you as a professor. You’re great!"
"Katy is exceptionally good at classroom management and at articulation of ideas and concepts. Whenever students got off task or began to speak out of turn, she was firm and respectful yet was consistent in making each and every student feel welcome and comfortable in class. Regarding her teaching of content, she put things in ways I had never thought of, and was able to use every single situation as a teaching and learning opportunity. No matter what happened, Katy was always on her toes and ready to use the class events in order to benefit everyone."
by Lauren Gunderson
April 8-10 & 14-16, 2022
Directed by Katy Hahn
“A Comedy. A Quartet. A Revolutionary Dream Fugue. A True Story.”
Written by Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in America in the past 5 years, The Revolutionists follows four women fighting for freedom and feminism in France during the Reign of Terror. The playwright Olympe de Gouge, Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle, assassin Charlotte Corday, and infamous former queen Marie-Antoinette take the audience on a wild ride, grappling with everything from art to activism. With a script written in the modern vernacular, themes of extremism and insanity resonate through the ages and leave the audience inspired, entertained…and maybe even a little terrified!
Liberté, égalité, sororité!
(This play will be the final production in the 2021-2022 theatre season at Coe College. Information on auditions coming soon!)
by William Shakespeare
August 13-22, 2021
Directed by Angie Toomsen
(Voice/Dialect coaching by Katy Hahn)
“How many fond fools serve mad jealousy!”
Travel bans, families unable to visit, and a world gone topsy turvy. Sound familiar? Welcome to Ephesus! (Which feels strangely like Nashville in the 1970s.) Shakespeare’s madcap farce tells the story of two sets of twins in the same place at the wrong (right?) time. Bold, flashy, and rhinestone-studded, this is the Bard at his most riotously comic.
by William Shakespeare
July 15-25, 2021
Directed by Adam Knight
(Voice/Text coaching by Katy Hahn)
“It is required you do awake your faith…”
Considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, The Winter’s Tale is a story of rebirth and redemption, pivoting from comedy to tragedy and back again. Two kingdoms bonded in friendship, riven by jealousy. King Leontes rules the cold halls of Sicilia with an increasingly tyrannical bent. Can the whitsuntide feasts of Bohemia and the promise of a new generation bring about the healing so desperately needed?
Time will tell.
June 18th-July 3, 2021
Directed by Angie Toomsen
(Dialect coaching by Katy Hahn)
Music, book and story by Steve Martin and music, lyrics and story by Edie Brickell.
Inspired by a true story and featuring the Tony®-nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Broadway’s Bright Star tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and ’40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past—and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives.
With beautiful melodies and powerfully moving characters, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tightly in its grasp, Bright Star is as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful.
May 21st, 2021
Written by Jordan Ramirez Puckett, directed by Rinska Carrasco, featuring Katy Hahn, Vero Maynez, Preston Tate Jr., Juan Francisco Villa, and Angelica Fink
To Saints and Stars is a full-length play about the intersection between science and faith. It follows the lifelong friendship of Sofía, a NASA astronaut, and Zoe, the wife of a Greek Orthodox priest. Sofia and Zoe have been friends since they were children and not a day has passed where they haven’t seen or spoken to each other. Their lives and friendship are changed forever when Zoe becomes pregnant with her first child and Sofía is chosen for the first manned Mission to Mars. As the day of Sofia’s departure to Mars and Zoe’s due date approaches, their relationship becomes more strained as each woman is forced to re-evaluate what they each have prioritized in their own life and the indelible impact that they have made on each other.
Mirrorbox Theatre presents Out the Box, a free weekly reading series of fresh contemporary plays performed live and to a limited audience. Visit: mirrorboxtheatre.com/out-the-box for upcoming events in the series!
February 26th, 2021
Directed by Cavan Hallman, and featuring performances by Patrick Du Laney, Katy Hahn, Duane Larson, and Michael Stahl-David
October 16th-November 1st, 2020 (extended from October 25th)
Directed by Caroline Price, filmed and edited by Rob Merritt, and starring Katy Hahn as The Pilot
A fighter pilot becomes pregnant and is forced to give up her wings. When she is reassigned to piloting a drone for a seemingly endless war, her sense of self — and reality — comes into question. A one-woman play about duty, identity, and motherhood.
For more information about Grounded and other titles in Riverside Theatre’s Virtual Stories Series, visit https://www.riversidetheatre.org/virtual
Read our review in the Gazette here!
Read our review in the Daily Iowan here!
Pictured:
Various production photos by S. Benjamin Farrar, Rob Merritt, Shannon Ouellette, and others.
In the summer of 2020 I formed a Facebook group to connect with other artists who are not cis men. I was attracted to the acronym “WATT” because I liked the idea of referring to the group as something that literally meant “a unit of power.”
WATT is a group for women, trans men, and nonbinary people who are involved in the arts (in any way) and seeking to connect with others! We invite you to join us. Click the logo above!
Free Workshop: Trans Representation in the Arts | Facebook
Pride month may be over, but LGBTQ+ education continues year-round. Brought to you by the Workers in the Arts Think Tank (WATT), Iowa artist Merric Bower (they/them) presented a FREE workshop about trans representation in the arts on July 8, 2021 @ 7pm CST. Thank you to everyone who joined us to learn more about this important topic! Contact me for more information on this workshop and future offerings.
This month the spotlight is on one of my friends who is a true ray of light in the Iowa theatre community:
Carrie Pozdol!
I met Carrie in 2018 when she auditioned for a production of Bully by Amina Henry I was directing for Mirrorbox Theatre. She immediately blew me away. I remember thinking, “Who is this and where did she come from??”
I cast Carrie and learned firsthand that she is not only amazingly smart and talented, but she is the ultimate collaborator. Carrie is humble and selfless, always devoting her energy to how she can serve the work and the people around her. In less than 4 years she has become one of my favorite humans ever.
This September, Carrie gave a guest lecture on Intimacy Direction for the Directing class I teach at the University of Northern Iowa. She did a fantastic job introducing students to a variety of tools they can use as beginning directors, and I highly recommend that if you are looking for someone to teach or coach theatrical intimacy, you give Carrie a call!
About Carrie:
Originally from Dubuque, Iowa, Carrie graduated from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa where she was a very active theater major. Following graduation, she moved to Chicago where she worked with various storefront theater companies for the next 10 years. She did work as an actor and a sound designer, and was an ensemble member with Tinfish Theater. Other theaters she worked with include RedTape Theater, MidTangent, and Appetite Theater. She also took improv, acting, and on-camera workshops with Annoyance Theater and Acting Studio Chicago. One of Carrie’s final projects in Chicago was co-writing and co-starring in a sketch comedy show called “It’s About Time”, which played at Gorilla Tango Theater.
Carrie and her husband moved to Dubuque when they started their family and while there Carrie was involved with the Dubuque One-Act Contest as an actor, director, and board member. A little over 5 years ago, Carrie and her family moved to Cedar Rapids where she and her husband have been thrilled to find and become a part of the thriving, supportive theatrical community. Carrie has worked with Mirrorbox, the University of Iowa New Play Festival, City Circle Theater, and Theatre Cedar Rapids.
During the pandemic, Carrie took the opportunity to start training in the field of Intimacy Choreography. To date, she has 38 hours of workshop training with Theatrical Intimacy Education, with more scheduled. She will also begin the “Pathway to Certification” program with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators this October.
The Corridor has been incredibly supportive of this new path, consulting with City Circle and Coe College. Theatre Cedar Rapids has also led the way in building and fostering a consent based and trauma informed practice by contracting her to do Intimacy and Safety Direction for the current season.
What’s next for Carrie?
“I will be performing in and doing Intimacy Direction for TCR’s production of Let the Right One In and Safety Directing for Cinderella. I will also be directing a virtual production of She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms for Iowa City Community Theater that will go up in December 2021. Auditions coming in early October. Also be on the lookout for a website soon!”
Merric Bower
Jason Alberty
Katy McGlaughlin
Akwi Nji
Heather Lawler
Noel VanDenBosch
Katie Colletta
Mia Fryvecind-Gimenez
Jo Jordan
S. Benjamin Farrar
Crystal Stewart
Megan Gogerty
Adam Knight
Genevieve Trainor
Chris Okiishi
Cavan Hallman
Angie Toomsen
Janeve West
Jim Bray
Caroline Price
Jenn Sheshko Wood
Sarah Schreiner
Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers
Rob Merritt
Jennifer Fawcett
Patrick DuLaney
Saffron Henke
Amy Osatinski
Cara Viner
Deanna Downes
Alisabeth Von Presley
