Plays
About
Originally from the farms and fields of upstate New York, Kate is an award-winning NYC-based actor/playwright. She still knows how to milk a cow – albeit not well (both she and the cow get very nervous). She is deeply passionate about creating new feminist, female-centered classics, both in new plays and in adaptation – stories that center around complicated women. Her work as a playwright celebrates theatricality, often features absurdity, and closely examines social and gender issues – as well as the timeless struggle to reconcile conscience/identity with social pressures. As an actor, she tends to play people with intense drives and desires – truth-tellers, oddballs, and misfits.Kate was named 2017’s Playwright of the Year by the Wall Street Journal.
She has been one of the 10 most-produced playwrights in the country for the last 5 years, from 2017-2022. In both 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, she wrote two of the top 10 most-produced plays in the U.S.; many of her plays have been produced internationally. Future productions on the UPCOMING page, including 4 world premieres in 2019/2020: Dracula at Classic Stage Company, Emma at the Guthrie, Prostitute Play at Cygnet Theater, and Scarlet Letter at South Coast Rep. Her previously-produced plays include Sense and Sensibility (Bedlam; in which she originated the role of Marianne) – Winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; Nominee, Drama League Award; 265+ performances off-Broadway; “Top Ten Theater of 2014” – Ben Brantley; “the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history” – Huffington Post.
Other plays include Vanity Fair (The Pearl; in which she originated the role of Becky Sharp; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; WSJ Critic’s Pick), Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages / HVSF; in which she originated the role of Lizzy Bennet; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; “Best Theater of 2017”, Huffington Post; WSJ Critic’s Pick), Little Women, Mansfield Park (originated role of Mary Crawford), and Dracula (Classic Stage Company; originated role of Renfield; WSJ Critic’s Pick); Emma (The Guthrie; Winner, best play, BroadwayWorld; Winner, best new play, BroadwayWorld); and Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B (Kansas City Rep; originated role of Joan Watson.) Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, PlayMaker’s Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Folger Theatre (8 Helen Hayes Award nominations; Winner, best production) & more.