Kate Whoriskey (born 1970)
by Misha Berson, Seattle Times, September 4, 2010 is a freelance theatre director.

Personal life

Whoriskey grew up in

Acton, Massachusetts Acton is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately west-northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord, Massachusetts, Concord and about southwest of Lowell ...

. She majored in theater at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(Experimental Theater Wing) (graduating in 1992) and in 1998 she completed a post-graduate program in directing from the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

's (A.R.T.)

Institute for Advanced Theater Training The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre (ART/МХАТ) Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University was founded in 1987 as a training ground for the new American Theater by Robert Brustein. The institute has been reside ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Whoriskey is married to actor

Daniel Breaker Daniel Breaker (born June 2, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Donkey in the original cast of '' Shrek the Musical''. His other Broadway credits include principal roles in ''Hamilton'', ''Hadestown'', ''Once Up ...

who has played

Donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

Shrek the Musical ''Shrek the Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: ''Shrek 2'', '' Shrek Forever After' ...

on Broadway. Whoriskey and Breaker have a son, named Rory, born in 2008.

Professional career

After completing her graduate program at ART, she immediately worked on directing a play there, ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'' by

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

.Tom Sellar
"Watching Kate Whoriskey"
, profile American Theatre magazine, July/August 2001, Theatre Communications Group. She has been a visiting lecturer at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and an associate artist at

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. South Coast Repertory was founded in 1964. It has three stages and presents plays from all eras. SCR producers new plays, Theatre for Young Audiences ...

in Orange County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She was briefly associated with Intiman Theatre in Seattle, in 2010 to 2011, prior to its closure due to cash flow problems.

Directing credits

A partial list of Whoriskey's directing credits is in the table below. Sources: Internet Off-Broadway Database Internet Broadway Database American Theatre Wing

Other work

Other theatres where she has directed include: * Theatre for a New Audience (New York), ''Oroonoko'', 2008 *

Center Stage (theater) Center Stage is the state theater of Maryland, and Baltimore's largest professional producing theater. Center Stage began in a converted gymnasium in 1963 as a full arena theatre that seated 240 people. The Center Stage currently houses two pe ...

(Baltimore, MD) (2003) *

Perseverance Theatre Perseverance Theatre is a professional theater company located on Douglas Island in Juneau, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska. It is Alaska's only professional theater and is particularly dedicated to developing and working with Alaskan artists and to produc ...

(Alaska) (2000) *

Actors Theatre of Louisville Actors Theatre of Louisville is a non-profit performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Actors Theatre was founded in 1964 following the merging of two local companies, Actors, Inc. and Theatre Louisville, operated by Louis ...

* Sundance Theatre Lab at the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

, (Park City, UT), 2005 * Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, (Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) (2006)"Press Release. Bard Summerscape. 'Camille'"
bard.edu, July 6, 2006 * The

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill, seating just over 1,000 guests. The center has received two ...

(Waterford, CT) *

Geva Theatre Center Geva Theatre Center is a regional, not-for-profit, professional theatre company based in Rochester, New York. It is housed in an 1868 building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located in Rochester at 75 Woodbury Boulevard near ...

(Rochester, NY). In her career, she has also worked with writers Nilo Cruz,

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

, and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh.

References

External links

Intiman Theater website

South Coast Repertory website

Charlie Rose interview
(about production of Ruined), July 14, 2009, 12 minute video {{DEFAULTSORT:Whoriskey, Kate 1970 births Living people People from Acton, Massachusetts Tisch School of the Arts alumni Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Princeton University faculty American theatre directors American women theatre directors American artistic directors