Katy Kepler

Katy Kepler is a multidisciplinary theatre artist originally from Rochester, NY now based in Omaha, NE. She currently serves as the Mobile Theatre Coordinator with the Omaha Community Playhouse (one of the largest non-profit community theatres in the nation) overseeing all things VROOM!, a unique program that specializes in meeting the needs of neurodivergent audiences and/or audiences with developmental delays. Through this work, Katy is able to tap into her experience as a director, performer, teacher, stage manager, and playwright.

Katy's passion for accessibility in the arts is also seen through her work in the classroom, where she has worked with people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. She has been a teaching artist with Omaha Performing Arts (O-PA) since 2018 through the Disney Musicals in Schools program, helping to create sustainable musical theatre programs in elementary schools by training school teachers in directing, stage management, choreography, and music direction. She is also a curriculum writer for O-PA's Musical Explorers Program in partnership with Carnegie Hall. Additionally, Katy has taught for multiple organizations throughout Omaha, including the Circle Theatre, Omaha Girls Rock, Nebraska Shakespeare, and the Rose Theatre, where she was also a Teaching Artist Fellow and subsequent Contract Teacher from 2015-2017. In Naples, NY, she served as the Apprentice Program Director at Bristol Valley Theatre (BVT) for three summers, focusing on devising site-specific work and Saturday Afternoon LIVE!, a teen-led sketch comedy show. She also directed Amy and the Orphans at BVT, a piece centering the story of a woman with down syndrome.

Katy's career has largely been focused on performances intended for family audiences. Directing credits throughout the Omaha community include Seussical, James and the Giant Peach (play), Farmer Brown, Alice in Wonderland Jr., and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Her production of James and the Giant Peach (musical) with Skutt Catholic High won Best Musical in the 2021-2022 Nebraska High School Theatre Academy Awards. Cut short by the pandemic, Katy was briefly the Artistic Director for The Apollon, an Omaha arts organization dedicated to creating devised work. There, she co-created Pokenon and Holiday at Hogwarts. 

Some of Katy's favorite performances include Starshine! (Dipper) with the Omaha Community Playhouse, When We Go Away (Kitty Williams) with the Circle Theatre, the title character of The Color Crook with the Omaha Symphony, and Stellaluna (Stellaluna) with the Rose Theatre. She was also an ensemble member and part of the original devising teams for A Palette of Possibility (Rose Theatre), Project Harker: A Dracula Experience (Apollon), and Walk the Nights: Spirits to Enforce (BLUEBARN). 

Katy can also be found behind-the-scenes in theatres and at festivals. Upon graduating from SUNY Brockport with a B.S. in Theatre, she served as the Production Stage Manager for the Rochester Children's Theatre for one season. After that, she freelanced extensively with Geva Theatre Center, where she could be found in multiple departments including stage management, scenic painting, props, costumes, and education, having previously completed an internship in which she assistant directed On Golden Pond and performed in Dracula and A Christmas Carol. Katy was also a Production Associate with the Rochester Fringe Festival in 2014 and 2015, working closely with guest artists such as Rimini Protokol, Bandaloop, Circus Orange, 20 Penny Circus, and Grounded Aerial. In Omaha, Katy served as a key volunteer for the MAHA Music Festival from 2018-2021.