Current Appointment
Katy is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. She is TheatreUNI’s primary acting instructor and intimacy director, and she directs and coaches regularly in the mainstage season. Katy also serves as the co-chair of the Performance Committee, Vice Chair for the College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Faculty Senate, and an active member of the Anti-Discrimination Committee.
TheatreUNI Connection
Katy has a rich history of being connected to TheatreUNI. Her parents (Tim Slaven and Colette Ceilley-Slaven) met in the Strayer-Wood Theatre in the ’80s, and Katy saw her first theatrical production at UNI at the age of two while her dad was attending grad school (Treasure Island, directed by Gretta Berghammer).
Katy attended UNI for undergrad as a Theatre Performance Major, Music Minor, and Presidential Scholar, graduating with Honors with Distinction in May 2010. She returned to teach as an adjunct instructor in the theatre department from Spring 2017-Fall 2022 and began a tenure-track full-time position in January 2023. She now lives two doors down from where her mom grew up, and can think of no place she would rather be.
Other Teaching Experience
Katy’s work in higher education includes classes, workshops, and productions at Florida Atlantic University, Coe College, Cornell College, Hawkeye College, and the University of Iowa. Additionally, she has taught numerous camps, classes, and workshops for youth and communities across the state of Iowa and the US.
Credentials
Katy earned her MFA in Theatre Arts – Acting from Florida Atlantic University in 2015. She is an Educator Advocate with Theatrical Intimacy Education and a Certified Teacher of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique through the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium.
