Welcome to www.KatherineSiegel.com! Here you'll find information and updates about Chicago based director, writer, and actor Katherine Siegel.

Originally from South Florida, Katherine attended the University of Miami and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Communications: Motion Pictures and a B.A. in Theater Arts. Currently, Katherine serves as Artistic Director at Eclectic Full Contact Theatre in Chicago, IL. She is also the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Lost Girls Theatre in Miami, FL. Katherine is a graduate of the nationally renown Second City Training Center in Chicago, IL where she completed both the Second City Conservatory and Music Conservatory programs.

A post-modernist, Katherine's directorial focus includes the exploration of art, pop culture, and history. Her productions often focus on the melding of classical texts and themes with the exploration of modern social and cultural concerns.

Oh and About That New Show...

March 6, 2018


It's Shakespeare!! That's right come join us at Chicago's own Athenaeum Theatre for this creative, world redefining, 80s pop rock version of Shakespeare's As You Like It. 

We've never seen Katherine more excited for a show and there's a good reason why. For her first crack at the eternal Bard's work, she's combining Shakespeare's sweetest play with modern concerns about gender identity and roles. It's an all together great show, given new life and meaning by taking the questions of class and social structure Shakespeare already asks and updating them for a modern audience. 

With an amazing cast featureing the awe inspiring Honey West, this is a production you won't want to miss. Just listen to Katherine's own sum up of the inspiration behind this new production:

"It this new adaptation of Shakespeare’s beloved classic “As You Like It” we’re reaching beyond traditional interpretation to expand on the play’s deeper themes of class and gender identity. Through Rosalind, Shakespeare himself sought to express concerns about what defines gender and how the social roles we often have assigned to us dictate our own sense of who we must be. His characters are confused, oppressed, and often scared when forced to exist in Fredrick’s restrictive dukedom. They cannot explore their identities beyond those they’ve been assigned, much less be who they truly are. It is only by getting “lost” in the forest of Arden that they have any chance to break with these social norms and discover their own complexity and sense of self.

Expanding on these themes to include more current social questions of what is gender and how much or how little does it define us, our “As You Like It” seeks to explore how modern society ties our own worth to gender identity. In this production gender role changes have been strategically made to explore concepts of gender identity including not just power dynamics between heterosexual men and women, but also transsexual, lesbian, gay, and asexual characters. With Honey West leading the charge as the affectionate and supportive leader Duke Senior, we ask questions about why modern society still has an aversion to female leadership and what, if anything, gender has to do with one’s ability to be a good leader. 

We’re asking the question of why? Why when we live in a society that is so diverse in terms of gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender expression, do we still frequently find ourselves valuing people and their qualities on a sliding scale of predefined “correct” gender behavior? All this while maintaining the comedic integrity of one of Shakespeare's sweetest comedies in a production that reaffirms that even in a more complicated world love can exist."


Sounds like a blast! Come check it out at the Athenaum Theater running in Studio 2 from March 23rd to April 25th 2018.



 

New Year, New Show, New Goals

March 6, 2018
It's been a while since we've had time to update, but with a full show schedule and big changes the past year and a half have been a whirlwind!

First, the big news. We're so excited to announce that Katherine will be taking on the role of Artistic Director at Eclectic Full Contact Theatre for the 2017/2018 season. While we'll miss our fearless leader, we couldn't be more excited for David Belew to be moving on to a great opportunity in Hawii. We're going to miss you Boss.

Katherine and founding...
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NEW SHOW! Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things"

July 13, 2015
So excited to announce that Katherine will be joining the amazing cast and crew of Eclectic Full Contact Theatre to helm their upcoming production of Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things."



Katherine will be joined by Eclectic company members Michelle Annette (playing Evelyn) and Andy Blaustein (playing Adam).

The production will open at the Athenaeum Theatre in February 2016. To learn more about Eclectic Full Contact Theatre visit their website here. To learn more about the Athenaeum Theatre clic...

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An Evening of Comedy Without James Franco

July 12, 2015

It's finally here! An Evening of Comedy Without James Franco is now playing at Stage 773!

Come see what happens when James Franco has a deadline to make and goes off in search of inspiration. Written by the amazing Sarah Celiann and staring the mega talented JC Farris, Ryan Kordana, Ethan Link, Kristin Phillips, Sissy Anne Quaranta, Danny Schaefer, and Brittnay Sudlow. Directed by Katherine Siegel. You don't want to miss this hilarious and provocative sketch show that takes a look at the Jame...
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