Theatre Artist: Director, Producer, Actor, Teacher and more
Kristin Clippard has administered, taught, acted, assisted or directed with over three dozen theaters, entertainment companies, non-profit organizations, universities, and schools across the country. She holds a BFA in Acting from Wright State University and an MFA in Directing from the University of Iowa. She has trained in various theater disciplines with Shakespeare & Company, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, the former National Conservatory Theatre, and SITI Company.
Selected directing credits include Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsey Ferrentino for Florida Studio Theater, Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson and The Roommate by Jen Silverman for American Stage, Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly for Capital Stage, The Luckiest People by Meridith Friedman for Orlando Shakespeare Theater, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza for Incline Theater, Loyalty and Betrayal (a community collaboration based on Julius Caesar) for San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s Midnight Shakespeare program , Landless by Andrew Saito for the Iowa New Play Festival, and Champagne Gods by Emily Dendingerfor Clifton Players. Favorite classic play projects include Twelfth Night for Theater at Monmouth, The Merry Wives of Windsor for Richmond Shakespeare Festival, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Annapolis Shakespeare Company, The Taming of the Shrew with Arclight Rep, Measure for Measure and Pericles for San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s Midnight Shakespeare program. Kristin has assisted numerous directors, such as Aaron Posner at the Folger Theater, and directed many staged readings of new work.
She has served on selection committees for new play competitions such as the Playwrights Foundation in San Francisco, PlayFest at Orlando Shakespeare Theater, the American Shakespeare Center, the 21st Century Voices New Play Festival at American Stage and the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. She enjoys developing new works with writers and is a playwright herself. As an actor, she toured her original one-person show, Wild Child, across the country and has performed with companies in Ohio, California and Florida.
Kristin has taught theatre to all ages for Valencia College, Anne Arundel Community College, University of Iowa, University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Opera, Victoria Theatre Association, California Shakespeare Theatre, TheatreWorks, Marin Theatre Company, Word for Word and the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, Peninsula Youth Theatre and more.
As an administrator and producer, Kristin has served in various capacities. Formerly, she worked as the Education Associate for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and as the Education Director for the Annapolis Shakespeare Company. As an associate member of the international Shakespeare Theater Association, Kristin actively volunteered to co-chair the planning committee of the worldwide, 400 year celebration of Shakespeare’s life in 2016. Most recently, Kristin was the Associate Artistic Director at American Stage throughout the theater’s pivot from live to digital programming during the pandemic. She is a member or associate of the Theatre Communications Group, The National New Play Network and The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
When not making theater, you can find her scuba diving reefs or paddle boarding with her golden retriever.
Selected directing credits include Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsey Ferrentino for Florida Studio Theater, Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson and The Roommate by Jen Silverman for American Stage, Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly for Capital Stage, The Luckiest People by Meridith Friedman for Orlando Shakespeare Theater, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza for Incline Theater, Loyalty and Betrayal (a community collaboration based on Julius Caesar) for San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s Midnight Shakespeare program , Landless by Andrew Saito for the Iowa New Play Festival, and Champagne Gods by Emily Dendingerfor Clifton Players. Favorite classic play projects include Twelfth Night for Theater at Monmouth, The Merry Wives of Windsor for Richmond Shakespeare Festival, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Annapolis Shakespeare Company, The Taming of the Shrew with Arclight Rep, Measure for Measure and Pericles for San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s Midnight Shakespeare program. Kristin has assisted numerous directors, such as Aaron Posner at the Folger Theater, and directed many staged readings of new work.
She has served on selection committees for new play competitions such as the Playwrights Foundation in San Francisco, PlayFest at Orlando Shakespeare Theater, the American Shakespeare Center, the 21st Century Voices New Play Festival at American Stage and the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis. She enjoys developing new works with writers and is a playwright herself. As an actor, she toured her original one-person show, Wild Child, across the country and has performed with companies in Ohio, California and Florida.
Kristin has taught theatre to all ages for Valencia College, Anne Arundel Community College, University of Iowa, University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Opera, Victoria Theatre Association, California Shakespeare Theatre, TheatreWorks, Marin Theatre Company, Word for Word and the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, Peninsula Youth Theatre and more.
As an administrator and producer, Kristin has served in various capacities. Formerly, she worked as the Education Associate for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and as the Education Director for the Annapolis Shakespeare Company. As an associate member of the international Shakespeare Theater Association, Kristin actively volunteered to co-chair the planning committee of the worldwide, 400 year celebration of Shakespeare’s life in 2016. Most recently, Kristin was the Associate Artistic Director at American Stage throughout the theater’s pivot from live to digital programming during the pandemic. She is a member or associate of the Theatre Communications Group, The National New Play Network and The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
When not making theater, you can find her scuba diving reefs or paddle boarding with her golden retriever.
Photo by Thee Photo Ninja
New and Upcoming
Stageworks presents Feb. 07, 2025 - Feb. 23, 2025
The People Downstairs
by Natalie SymonsIn Buffalo NY, Miles, an aging funeral home custodian lives with his middle-aged daughter Mabel, who spends her days writing letters to prison inmates. When a court-appointed guardian threatens to take away their home, Miles sets out to set Mabel up with Todd, an inept mortician. It is a fathers fierce determination not to accept his daughter’s fate that ignites an endearing human comedy about love, loss, loneliness, and the healing power of laughter.
“Natalie Symons has a winner here. She just needs to break through to the national level, and THE PEOPLE DOWNSTAIRS should be the play that does it. It has everything you want in a show: Laughter, tears, bizarre stories, memorable characters, and even a dog on the loose. I’ve been cheerleading Ms. Symons’ work for several years now, and the world needs to see what we here in the Bay Area already know. She’s the real deal, a true original, a writer with a vision, an artist who isn’t afraid to go for broke, a quirky comedian who has a surprising dark world view mixed with so much heart. She’s got it all, and her time is now.”
– Peter Nason — Broadway World
I am thrilled to be directing A NICE MOTHERLY PERSON by Lia Romeo and delighted to be shaping a brand new play inspired by Wendy Darling and the challenges of motherhood. Come see us at work in Sarasota!
Peter is in New York City, Wendy’s a New Mom, and the Crocodile Won’t Stop Ticking! Lia Romeo spins a darkly comedic tale where the absurdity of new motherhood meets the relentless pressure to be perfect. Wendy’s world is a whirlwind of breastfeeding, sleepless nights, and impossible standards, all while she’s haunted by her own ticking Crocodile. Romeo's script is a laugh-out-loud yet painfully relatable journey that will strike a chord with anyone who's ever felt overwhelmed by the societal roles they are demanded to play.
Peter is in New York City, Wendy’s a New Mom, and the Crocodile Won’t Stop Ticking! Lia Romeo spins a darkly comedic tale where the absurdity of new motherhood meets the relentless pressure to be perfect. Wendy’s world is a whirlwind of breastfeeding, sleepless nights, and impossible standards, all while she’s haunted by her own ticking Crocodile. Romeo's script is a laugh-out-loud yet painfully relatable journey that will strike a chord with anyone who's ever felt overwhelmed by the societal roles they are demanded to play.
What the Constitution Means to Me
by Heidi Schreck
October 11-October 27, 2024; Preview October 9
A Pulitzer Prize finalist and nominated for 2 Tony Awards, this hilarious, hopeful and achingly human play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. As a 15-year-old, Heidi Schreck won debate competitions defending the Constitution across the country. As an adult, she resurrects her teenage self to investigate its profound effect on four generations of women in her family and ask what the U.S. Constitution truly means.
2019 Tony Award nominee and winner of the Obie Award, Off-Broadway Alliance Award, and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.
Dear Jack, Dear Louise by Ken Ludwig opens July 5 at Florida Studio Theatre. This heartwarming and romantic story of two people reaching out across the distance to form a relationship that will stand the test of time. A World War II love story based on the playwright's own parents. Featuring Jordan Sobel and Maggie Lou Rader.
A Night in November by Marie Jones opens at Florida Studio Theatre on February 23 and runs through March 15. Actor James Evans plays 23 characters from Belfast, Dublin, New York and elsewhere during the Northern Ireland Troubles of the 1990s. Check out this article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Photo by John Jones.
Coming January 19, 2024 at Florida Studio Theatre is Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsey Ferrentino. It's the story of a soldier who navigates her new reality after returning home to Florida. Everything is altered after a third tour of duty in Afghanistan where she is badly injured by an IED. Through family care, virtual reality therapy and encountering people from her old life, she somehow finds a way to move through the pain and continue the healing. We come to see that forward motion is how we survive. I am honored to explore this veteran's perspective on the world with the terrific people at FST in Sarasota.
Regional Premiere at Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota, FL. When Bella Baird, an isolated creative writing professor at Yale, begins to mentor a brilliant but enigmatic student named Christopher, the two form an unexpectedly intense bond. As their lives and the stories they tell about themselves become intertwined in unpredictable ways, Bella makes a surprising request of Christopher that neither knows if he can fulfill. Brimming with suspense, Rapp’s riveting play explores the limits of what one person can ask of another.
The reviews are in!
“It is all beautifully and naturalistically staged by Kristin Clippard in a way that never feels forced. The stories unfold as if they’re happening now. The connection between the two actors is remarkable…That is typical of the kinds of productions Urbanite Theatre stages. ‘The Sound Inside’ ranks among the company’s best, keeping you focused on the story and characters and leaving plenty to discuss on the way home.”
- Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
"Director Kristin Clippard never loses balance on Rapp’s wobbly meta-fictional tightrope. She keeps you guessing about what’ll happen next. You never doubt what’s happening now. Clippard directs with crystal clarity. With Rapp’s mind games to work with, that’s a high-wire act."
- Marty Fugate, Your Observer
The reviews are in!
“It is all beautifully and naturalistically staged by Kristin Clippard in a way that never feels forced. The stories unfold as if they’re happening now. The connection between the two actors is remarkable…That is typical of the kinds of productions Urbanite Theatre stages. ‘The Sound Inside’ ranks among the company’s best, keeping you focused on the story and characters and leaving plenty to discuss on the way home.”
- Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
"Director Kristin Clippard never loses balance on Rapp’s wobbly meta-fictional tightrope. She keeps you guessing about what’ll happen next. You never doubt what’s happening now. Clippard directs with crystal clarity. With Rapp’s mind games to work with, that’s a high-wire act."
- Marty Fugate, Your Observer
How does a writer approach the division in our society and address uncomfortable issues in an accessible way? With humor, of course! Karen Zacarías expertly crafted this hilarious script that premiered in 2016 but still holds much relevancy today. What starts out as a hopeful, new neighborly friendship turns into a full blown backyard battle. The Del Valles and the Butleys come into conflict over their shared fence and where it should stand. Laughter accompanies every turn as the two couples navigate realizations about identity, culture, class and privilege. Through personal sensitivities, flared tempers, misunderstandings and prejudice, they somehow find peace and acceptance. I am excited to choreograph the many comedic opportunities (hello gardening tools and chain saws!) that await the actors. The joy that radiates from the rehearsal room will surely reverberate and the audience is guaranteed a good time in the intimate Hippodrome theater space. The show opens March 10. If you are near Gainesville, FL, stop on over! More information at: https://thehipp.org/native-gardens/
I am honored to be directing The Agitators by Mat Smart at freeFall Theatre in St Petersburg, FL in 2023. This extraordinary play follows the lifelong friendship of Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony. Across opinions and personal comfort, these two titans of American history sustain their relationship because love runs deeper than any political divide. Despite a difference in strategy in attacking the abolition of slavery and soon after, suffrage for women, they manage to move forward together. This project has involved a great amount of research (thank you, India Nicole Burton) and perspective on what these things mean to us today in our current fight for equality. Not enough has changed in the last 150 years, but this enduring partnership can inspire us to further change. Their friendship has inspired me most deeply, but their passion for the cause has made a lasting impression. I am grateful to Eric Davis for this opportunity, and to Lawrence James and Jennifer Christa Palmer for their incredible work in embodying these characters. What a journey! We open on January 28 and run through February 27. I hope you can be there. Visit https://freefalltheatre.com/ for more information.
