# Kate Hamill > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kate_Hamill > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kate_Hamill.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Hamill > Source revision: 1260008827 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American actress and playwright}} {{Infobox writer | embed = | honorific_prefix = | name = Kate Hamill | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = United States | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = | language = | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = Plays | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = | partner = | children = | relatives = | awards = "Playwright of the Year" | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = | module = | website = | portaldisp = }} '''Kate Hamill''' is an American actress and playwright. Hamill is known for writing and acting in innovative, contemporary adaptations of classic novels for the stage, including [Jane Austen](/source/Jane_Austen)’s ''[Sense and Sensibility](/source/Sense_and_Sensibility)'', ''[Emma](/source/Emma_(novel))'', and ''[Pride and Prejudice](/source/Pride_and_Prejudice);'' [William Makepeace Thackeray](/source/William_Makepeace_Thackeray)’s ''[Vanity Fair](/source/Vanity_Fair_(novel));'' Bram Stoker's ''Dracula;'' Louisa May Alcott's ''Little Women''; and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. She also writes new plays and works as an actor, independently. In 2017, ''[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)''{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-theater-of-2017-on-stage-vitality-in-every-waybut-one-1513185338|title=The Best Theater of 2017: On Stage, Vitality in Every Way—But One|last=Teachout|first=Terry|date=2017-12-13|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-03-02|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}} named Hamill "Playwright of the Year." She has been named one of the most-produced playwrights in America for every year ranging from 2017 -2023 by ''American Theatre''{{Cite web|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/09/21/the-top-20-most-produced-playwrights-of-the-2017-18-season/|title=The Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights of the 2017-18 Season|last=Tran|first=Diep|date=2017-09-21|website=AMERICAN THEATRE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-02}} magazine, which is published by TCG Theatre Communications Group. In 2023, Primary Stages presented Hamill with the Einhorn Mentorship Award. ==Childhood and education== Hamill grew up in a dairy farmhouse in [Lansing, New York](/source/Lansing%2C_New_York),{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=Mary Jo|title=A Madcap 'Pride & Prejudice' in the Hudson Valley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/theater/a-madcap-pride-prejudice-alfresco-in-the-hudson-valley.html|access-date=10 December 2017|work=New York Times|date=29 June 2017}} or as she puts it, in "a town with more cows than people.".{{Cite web|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/11/20/kate-hamill-from-stage-to-page-and-back-again/|title=Kate Hamill: From Stage to Page and Back Again|last=Considine|first=Allison|date=2017-11-20|website=AMERICAN THEATRE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-31}} She was "a small, high-energy, highly emotional child" and "grew up in a household that prized reading and literature". Her bedtime reading featured Greek myths and classic novels, including Jane Austen's works. She married her long-term partner, actor and oft-time co-star Jason O'Connell, on January 20, 2020.{{Cite news |last=Mallozzi |first=Vincent M. |date=2020-01-24 |title=No Lack of Chemistry, Onstage or Off |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/fashion/weddings/no-lack-of-chemistry-onstage-or-off.html |access-date=2023-02-16 |issn=0362-4331}} She received a BFA in acting from [Ithaca College](/source/Ithaca_College). == Career == Hamill creates stories that are female-centered and feminist.{{cn|date=October 2022}} As a playwright, she has a playful and theatrical style that features absurdity while examining social and gender issues. As an actor, she "tends to play truth-tellers, oddballs, and misfits: complicated people who color outside the lines."{{Cite web|url=http://www.kate-hamill.com/about|title=ABOUT|website=KATE HAMILL: Actor / Playwright|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-31}} ===''Sense and Sensibility''=== Hamill's ''Sense and Sensibility'' premiered in a short run at New York City's Bedlam Theater Company in November 2014.{{cite news|last1=Brantley|first1=Ben|title='Seagull' and 'Sense and Sensibility,' From Bedlam Company|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/27/theater/seagull-and-sense-and-sensibility-from-bedlam-company.html|access-date=10 December 2017|work=New York Times|date=26 November 2014}} It had a longer run in 2016 directed by Eric Tucker, also at Bedlam.{{cite news|last1=Brantley|first1=Ben|title=A Whirlwind of Delicious Gossip in 'Sense & Sensibility'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/theater/review-a-whirlwind-of-delicious-gossip-in-sense-sensibility.html|access-date=10 December 2017|work=New York Times|date=4 February 2016}} Hamill played [Marianne Dashwood](/source/Marianne_Dashwood). The play was staged at the [Pacific Repertory Theatre](/source/Pacific_Repertory_Theatre) in 2024.{{cite news|url=https://www.montereycountynow.com/entertainment/art/hot-picks-10-03-24/article_f533cda2-8126-11ef-9196-4b26be0020c9.html|title=Hot Picks 10.03.24|date=October 23, 2024|work=[Monterey County Weekly](/source/Monterey_County_Weekly)}} ===''Vanity Fair''=== ''Vanity Fair'' was produced by Manhattan's [Pearl Theater](/source/Pearl_Theatre_(New_York_City)) in 2017, with Hamill playing [Becky Sharp](/source/Becky_Sharp_(character)).{{cite news|last1=Soloski|first1=Alexis|title=A Hectic 'Vanity Fair,' Starring That Nasty Woman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/03/theater/vanity-fair-broadway-review-kate-hamill-eric-tucker.html|access-date=10 December 2017|work=New York Times|date=3 April 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/theater-dance/how-playwright-kate-hamill-brought-a-modern-sensibility-to-a-19th-century-novel/2019/02/21/d6210e6a-347a-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html|title=How playwright Kate Hamill brought a modern sensibility to a 19th-century novel|last=Pressley|first=Nelson|date=21 February 2019|newspaper=Washington Post}} ===''Pride and Prejudice''=== Hamill's adaptation of ''Pride and Prejudice'' premiered at the [Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival](/source/Hudson_Valley_Shakespeare_Festival) in 2017, directed by Amanda Dehnert. The production, in which Hamill and her long-term partner, Jason O'Connell, play the leading roles of [Elizabeth Bennet](/source/Elizabeth_Bennet) and [Mr. Darcy](/source/Mr._Darcy), transferred to Manhattan's [Primary Stages](/source/Primary_Stages).{{cite news|last1=Soloski|first1=Alexis|title=In This 'Pride and Prejudice,' Love Is a Zero-Sum Game|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/theater/review-pride-and-prejudice-pride-cherry-lane.html|access-date=10 December 2017|work=New York Times|date=19 November 2017}} This play was published in script form by Dramatists Play Service INC. ===''Little Women''=== In 2018, Hamill's adaptation of ''Little Women'' premiered at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis, directed by Sarah Rasmussen. For its New York City premiere in 2019, it opened at the [Cherry Lane Theatre](/source/Cherry_Lane_Theatre), directed by Sarna Lapine.{{cite web|url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/196147/mary-bacon-joins-kate-hamills-new-theatrical-version-of-little-women/|title=Mary Bacon Joins Kate Hamill's New Theatrical Version of Little Women|website=Broadway.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-11}}{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/mary-bacon-joins-little-women-off-broadway|title=Mary Bacon Joins Little Women Off-Broadway|last=Clement|first=Olivia|date= 2019-06-11|website=Playbill|access-date=2019-06-11}} This play was published in script form by Dramatists Play Service INC. === ''Dracula (a feminist revenge fantasy)'' === In 2020, Hamill's feminist retelling of ''Dracula'' opened at Classic Stage Company, directed by Sarna Lapine.{{Cite news |last=Collins-Hughes |first=Laura |date=2020-02-27 |title=In a Battle for Female Personhood, These Plays Are on the Front Lines |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/theater/grand-horizons-dracula-notebook.html |access-date=2023-02-16 |issn=0362-4331}} This play was published by TRW plays. === ''Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson - Apt. 2B'' === In 2021, Hamill's "cheerful desecration" of Sherlock Holmes stories opened at Kansas City Rep, directed by Jose Zayas. This play was published by TRW plays. === ''Emma'' === In 2022, Hamill's adaptation of Jane Austen's ''[Emma](/source/Emma_(novel))'' opened at the Guthrie Theatre, directed by Meredith McDonough. This play was published by TRW plays. === ''The Little Fellow (Or, The Queen of Tarts Tells All)'' === In 2023, Hamill's original play about the British courtesan [Harriette Wilson](/source/Harriette_Wilson) premiered at Cygnet Theater, directed by Rob Lutfy. === ''The Scarlet Letter'' === In 2024, Hamill's adaptation of [Nathaniel Hawthorne's](/source/Nathaniel_Hawthorne) [The Scarlet Letter](/source/The_Scarlet_Letter) premiered at Two River Theater, directed by Shelley Butler. === ''The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi)'' === In August 2024, Hamill's original play about the artist [Artemisia Gentileschi](/source/Artemisia_Gentileschi) [https://www.chq.org/chautauqua-theater-company/ctc-2024-season/the-light-and-the-dark/ premiered at Chautauqua Theater Company in Chautauqua, New York], directed by Jade King Carroll. It is [https://www.primarystages.org/the-light-and-the-dark currently being performed in Manhattan] at [Primary Stages](/source/Primary_Stages) at [59E59 Theaters](/source/59E59_Theaters) in November and December 2024. === ''The Odyssey'' === Hamill's 3-act adaptation of the [Homeric](/source/Homer) epic is scheduled to premiere at [American Repertory Theater](/source/American_Repertory_Theater) in February 2025. Shana Cooper is directing. ==References== {{reflist}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamill, Kate}} Category:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:Jane Austen Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American women dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century American women writers Category:American stage actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:People from Lansing, New York Category:Actresses from New York (state) Category:Writers from New York (state) Category:Ithaca College alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kate Hamill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Hamill) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Hamill?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.