Karla Kash 

karlakash@mchsi.com

AEA/SDC/SAFD

Associate Professor and Director/Producer of the Theatre Program 

Karla Kash is honored to be amongst the talented team at the University of Albany. This past season, Professor Kash directed A Doll's House and choreographed Hair at UAlbany. Next season she will be directing and choreographing Godspell.

Karla fight directed Top Girls at SUNY Courtland and will be their fight director for Les Liaisons Dangerous sand choreographer for The 25th Annual Putnam County SpellingBee next season. Karla just did the fight direction for a new played called Prowessat Brown/Trinity Rep which will also be restaged at Pyramid Theatre Company this summer.

Professor Kash spent a decade as the head of the BFA Musical Theatre Program at Drake University, where she was a tenured Associate Professor. Professor Kash directed, choreographed and fight directed many productions at Drake; some favorites include Heathers; Cabaret; A Man of No Importance; Sweeny Todd; bare; The Wild Party; Urinetown; Company; and Twelfth Night and in conjunction with StageWest, Spring Awakening and Working.

Ms. Kash is a professional actor, director, choreographer and fight director as well as theatre educator. Most recently, Karla played Barbara in August: Osage County, a joint production between Repertory Theatre of Iowa and StageWest. Ms. Kash played Susan in the musical [title of show]; Becca in Rabbit Hole and Haley in the one-woman show Bad Dates for StageWest. Ms. Kash has directed, choreographed, and fight directed many productions for StageWest and RTI. Some favorites productions are Parade; Avenue Q; Taming of the Shrew; The Beebo Brinker Chronicles; Bill W. and Dr. Bob; Forbidden Broadway; Johnny Guitar; Jerry Springer the Opera; The Glass Menagerie; As You Like It and A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Ms. Kash was director/choreographer at Des Moines Playhouse for West Side Story; Rock of Ages; The Wedding Singer and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Karla also did Josephat Tent Theatre. Karla directed Shipwrecked at The Black Hills Playhouse in South Dakota. For Des Moines Onstage, Karla directed Spring Awakeningand 13she also performed in a concert version of Next to Normal where she played Diane. 

Ms. Kash was the recipient of the 2014 Madelyn Levitt Mentor of the year award at Drake, which she credits as the most significant honor of her career. Karla is a member of Actor's Equity Association, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and The Society of American Fight Directors through which she is proficient in six weapons. Ms. Kash earned her BFA in Acting with an emphasis in dance and musical theatre from Wright State University and her MFA in Acting with an emphasis on Classical Theatre from Brandeis University.  www.karlakash.com