Pictured:
A View from the Bridge. Riverside Theatre. Photo by Rob Merritt.
The Wolves. Cornell College. Photo by Olivia Houchins McCollum.
Aurora. Theatre Cedar Rapids Underground New Play Festival. Photo by Rob Merritt.
Hi, my name is Katy, I use she/her pronouns, and I do not remember a time when theatre and education were not integral to my world. I have dedicated my life to becoming a well-rounded and effective teaching artist. I earned my BA in Theatre: Performance from the University of Northern Iowa in 2010 and my MFA in Acting from Florida Atlantic University in 2015, and now I perform, teach, and make art for a living.
CURRENTLY:
I live in the Eastern Iowa Corridor with my husband Bill and our son Jack. In addition to teaching theatre at the University of Northern Iowa and Coe College, I work all over the state as a professional director, dialect coach, youth instructor, and actor for stage, screen, and voice over projects.
Pictured:
Headshot by Alisabeth Von Presley
I collaborate with people at all levels of experience to spark creativity, inspire confidence, cultivate empathy, build community, and engage in the greater conversations of life.
My primary field of study is theatre performance, with specializations in voice, speech, and movement for the actor. I have additional expertise in Shakespeare, dialect study, musical theatre, new play development, and theatre for social change.
I use my skills and experience as an actor, educator, and collaborator to serve people of all ages and backgrounds, particularly diverse learners and underrepresented groups.
Pictured:
Henry IV Part 1. Riverside Theatre. Photo by Rob Merritt.
Pictured:
Bully. Mirrorbox Theatre. Photo by Greg Billman.
This April, Riverside Theatre in Iowa City asked actors to perform monologues from Shakespeare’s canon to celebrate his 456th birthday and build anticipation for the return of Free Shakespeare on the Festival Stage in Lower City Park.
Check out all 30 monologues at riversidetheatre.org/30daysofshakespeare
Here is my contribution!
“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.”
"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 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."
Megan Gogerty
Pictured:
Photo from megangogerty.com
The first time I was introduced to Megan Gogerty was when I saw her hilarious one-woman show Housebroken at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City. I remember thinking “Who is this woman? How on Earth did Iowa City get so lucky??”
Megan is, in a phrase, a force to be reckoned with.
I am amazed and inspired by this human being who is both goofy and fierce, self-deprecating and goddess-like, somehow both larger than life and completely down to earth. She is a true artist – she has done the work to know who she is and she never stops finding unique and innovative ways to share herself with audiences. When you leave a Megan Gogerty show, you feel like a different person – somehow both better and at the same time asking yourself what you have done with your life recently.
I chose to feature Megan this month because she is unstoppable – even in the middle of a pandemic she has found ways to keep sharing her work and making the world a better place! Check out her latest play The Tether.
About Megan
(from her website, www.megangogerty.com):
“Megan Gogerty is a playwright and comedian. Her solo show Lady Macbeth and Her Pal, Megan played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won the Audience Pick of the Fringe at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Her play Bad Panda (Theatre Without Borders, Beijing; Iron Crow Theatre Co.; WordBRIDGE Boomerang Playwright honoree) is published by Original Works Publishing and was translated into Spanish for a five-month run at Del Teatro Milan in Mexico City. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed her solo show Hillary Clinton Got Me Pregnant in their yearly Top Ten Best Plays. Megan’s musical drama Love Jerry was produced in the New York Musical Theatre Festival where it won three Talkin’ Broadway Citations and four NYMF Excellence Awards including Excellence in Writing (Book). Her ten-minute play Rumple Schmumple (Dramatic Pub.) was a Kennedy Center/National ACTF honoree. Other plays include: Housebroken (Riverside Theatre, Hollins University); Save Me, Dolly Parton (Riverside Theatre, Synchronicity Theatre; named among Best Plays in Atlanta by Creative Loafing). Her musical tribute album to the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer is widely available online. Megan was a Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow, a WordBRIDGE alum, and she earned her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently teaches playwriting at the University of Iowa and is a regularly returning visiting faculty for the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University.”
April 2020: Adam Knight
March 2020: Genevieve Trainor
February 2020: Chris Okiishi
January 2020: Cavan Hallman
December 2019: Angie Toomsen
November 2019: Janeve West
October 2019: Jim Bray
September 2019: Caroline Price
August 2019: Jenn Sheshko Wood
July 2019: Sarah Schreiner
June 2019: Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers
May 2019: Rob Merritt
April 2019: Jennifer Fawcett
March 2019: Patrick DuLaney
February 2019: Saffron Henke
January 2019: Amy Osatinski
December 2018: Cara Viner
November 2018: Deanna Downes
October 2018: Alisabeth Von Presley
I created a private Facebook group for individuals in the arts who do not identify as cis men to share ideas, raise questions, support each other, and get shit done.
Pictured:
Henry IV Part 1. Riverside Theatre. Photo by Isaac Hamlet for the Iowa City Press Citizen.
