Michael Kahn, Artistic director, Shakespeare Theatre Company
Lucas Hnath, Playwright, A Doll’s House, Part 2
Kate Hamill, Actor, playwright, Sense and Sensibility

Michael Kahn

A theater director and drama educator, Michael Kahn has served as artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company since 1986 and, in 1983, founded what was then called the Chautauqua Conservatory Theater Company.

Kahn’s work in theatre and opera has been seen on Broadway, off-Broadway, in American regional theatres, and at international venues. During his tenure at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, he has directed award-winning classical theater productions, instituted free Shakespeare performances, and led the Theatre to receive the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award. From 1992-2006, Kahn was the Richard Rogers Chair of the Drama Division at Juilliard, where he has taught since its founding in 1968. He also served as the artistic director of The Acting Company, McCarter Theatre Center, and the American Shakespeare Theatre.

Among his many honors is a Tony nomination for his direction of Show Boat in 1983. In 2012, for his work at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Kahn accepted the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. In 2013, Kahn was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and was named an Honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

Lucas Hnath’s work includes A Doll’s House, Part 2; Hillary and Clinton; Red Speedo; The Christians; Isaac’s Eye; and Death Tax.

Hnath’s plays have been produced nationally and internationally, including at Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Soho Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana Festival of New Plays, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Steppenwolf Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Royal Court Theatre, and on Broadway at the John Golden Theater.

An assistant arts professor in the Department of Dramatic Writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Hnath is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, an alum of New Dramatists, and a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. He is also a recipient of an Obie, Guggenheim Fellowship, Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play, Whiting Award, Kesselring Prize, two citations from the American Theatre Critics Association, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Playwriting Award, the Windham-Campbell Prize, and a 2017 Tony nomination for Best Play.

Lucas Hnath’s work includes A Doll’s House, Part 2; Hillary and Clinton; Red Speedo; The Christians; Isaac’s Eye; and Death Tax.

Hnath’s plays have been produced nationally and internationally, including at Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Soho Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana Festival of New Plays, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Steppenwolf Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Royal Court Theatre, and on Broadway at the John Golden Theater.

An assistant arts professor in the Department of Dramatic Writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Hnath is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, an alum of New Dramatists, and a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. He is also a recipient of an Obie, Guggenheim Fellowship, Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play, Whiting Award, Kesselring Prize, two citations from the American Theatre Critics Association, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Playwriting Award, the Windham-Campbell Prize, and a 2017 Tony nomination for Best Play.

Kate Hamill is an actor and playwright who was named Wall Street Journal’s Playwright of the Year in 2017. Her work includes her play Sense and Sensibility (in which she originated the role of Marianne), which was the winner of the 2016 Off-Broadway Alliance Award, and a nominee for the Drama League Award.

Her other adaptations include Vanity Fair (in which she originated the role of Becky Sharp), Pride and Prejudice (in which she originated the role of Lizzy Bennet), both of which were nominees for Off-Broadway Alliance Awards, and the upcoming Mansfield Park and Little Women. She is also working on adaptations of The Odyssey and The Scarlet Letter.

Hamill’s plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, Dallas Theater Center, PlayMaker’s Rep, and the Folger Theatre (where they garnered eight Helen Hayes Award nominations). Hamill was one of the top 20 most-produced playwrights in the country this season.

Michael Kahn

Appearances