In Kate’s career as a playwright, she’s prided herself on writing female protagonists that remind her of the women she knows in her life, and for diversifying the kinds of women we get to see represented. Her plays and adaptations give view to women that are funny, flawed, and move away from fulfilling the role of supporting the endeavors of their male counterparts. Her adaptations are full of artful wit and are sure to bridge the gap between Jane Austen’s sense and contemporary sensibilities. Take a look at her bio and the excerpt from the article below to learn more about her successes as an actress and playwright.

Kate Hamill is an actor/playwright. Wall Street Journal’s Playwright of the Year, 2017. Her work includes her play SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (in which she originated the role of Marianne)—Winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award 2016; Nominee, Drama League Award; 265+ performances off-Broadway. Other plays include VANITY FAIR at the Pearl Theatre (in which she originated the role of Becky Sharp; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award 2017), PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at Primary Stages and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (originated the role of Lizzy Bennet; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award). Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, Dallas Theater Center, PlayMaker’s Rep, Folger Theatre (8 Helen Hayes Award nominations; Winner, best production—S&S), Arvada Center and others; upcoming productions at Shakespeare Theatre of DC, A.C.T., Trinity Rep, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public, Kansas City Rep, Dorset Theatre Festival and more. Upcoming world premieres: LITTLE WOMEN at the Jungle Theater and Primary Stages; MANSFIELD PARK at Northlight Theatre. She is currently working on new adaptations of “The Odyssey” and “The Scarlet Letter,” as well as several new original plays (PROSTITUTE PLAY, IN THE MINES, LOVE POEM). Kate was one of the top 20 most-produced playwrights in the country this season. http://www.kate-hamill.com

“Hamill’s adaptations masterfully bring the social commentary of the 19th century into the present. And the off-color humor buried in Austen’s margins is brought center stage. The notes in the script for Pride and Prejudice read: “If you think something could be a dirty joke, it probably is.”

Says Long Wharf’s Scarfuto, “Kate has an incredible ability to create a world that somehow feels true to the drawing rooms of Austen’s England and simultaneously very much of the present moment. The result is a take on Austen that’s playful, irreverent, and full of life—and smartly poking fun at those societal limitations that somehow, even now, we haven’t quite overcome.” “-American Theatre